The Pitter Patter of Itty Bitty Kitty Feet

No I'm not pregnant.

Matthew and I have become parents though....

Sort of....

A little over 2 months ago a stray tabby cat showed up on the front porch of our apartments and kind of adopted Matthew and me.

She didn't come up to any other people that lived in our buildings, but when either of us walked outside she was fast to twine herself in and out of our legs and express her desire to be fed.

Express may be too mild of a word for what she did.. this was one bossy cat. She basically yelled at us - as if saying Feed Me Now Human! Which of course we did.

After a couple of weeks petting her on our way in and out of the apartment we started to notice a rather large gathering of cats around the apartment. It only took one flick of our little stray's tail to realize she was in heat.

Now Matthew has never owned a cat and has, much like me, never been much of a cat person. We had cats growing up, and I'd been coerced into adopting 2 kittens from a lady I went to church with when I lived in Michigan that I brought with me when I moved south. But when constant sweeping and thwarted potty training attempts resulted in the boys being more of a pain than a pleasure, I eventually rehomed them. They went together to the same new home and from the pictures their new mommy sent me are living it up in a spoiled life of kitty luxury.

Pesca & Blanco as kittens, and all grown up.

They were inseparable!

In their new home - living in the lap of luxury!

I had no interest what-so-ever in getting another cat, but something about this stray called to us and we finally decided to rescue her from the masses of horny tom cats and bring her inside. We'd seen her run from every male cat that got near her for an entire week and felt relatively confident she'd escaped unmolested.

We were wrong.

About 5 weeks after bringing her in I started to notice she was getting a little thick around the middle and her tummy was beginning to feel firm. Matthew brushed it off as her just growing from finally having a steady diet, but after her little ninnies started turning pink even he had to concede we'd soon become parents, er um grandparents? whatever, we'd be having some kittens soon.

I hopped on line and researched how long the gestation period was for cats and from our closest calculation we figured she'd be due about the 1st or 2nd week of August.

The exact same time we were scheduled to go out of town on vacation - oy!

Thankfully we came home to a still pregnant cat and no kittens. Then this morning I woke up to Scathach snuggled up under my arm in bed, which she never does. I didn't think anything of it until I felt her stomach start making funny movements. Let me tell you, I snapped awake in 2.4 seconds. She may have grown on me, but not to the point where I was ok with her giving birth on my comforter!!

We'd spread out a blanket on the floor in the corner of the living room between the ends of the couch and love seat in preparation and I jumped up, grabbed her and ran to the living room to lay her on it. I read that animals will seek an enclosed place to give birth because it feels protected and the space between the ends of both of our couches makes a perfect little square cave.

Delivering the first kitten was rough. She screamed and meowed and hissed, while flipping and flopping all over the blanket trying to find a comfortable position. I felt so bad for her! Women talk about how painful giving birth to one baby is.. imagine spitting out 4.. in less than half an hour!!

We ended up with 4 kittens total and Matthew made it home from work to assist with and watch the last 2 kittens being born. We got them all cleaned up and settled in a box padded with a sheet and towel so they stay safe and warm. Scathach has been feeding them pretty much non-stop since she finished with the delivery.

So now we're parents to a momma cat and 4 kittens until they're about 8 weeks old and can be taken to the Mobile ASPCA to be adopted out. All of Alabama's shelters are guarantee no-kill shelters so we feel safe that they'll all find new homes. I took a couple of really gross - just being born - pictures but I'll spare you the gore and just share the cute fluffy adorableness that they are now!

And then there were none...

You may notice something different about my blog today. You may notice there is something missing over there on the left side.

My sweet Bella has found a new home. It was a hard decision and one that made me sad, but it was best for us both.

Bella needed a lot of exercise and I just didn't have the time to give it to her. She needed a lot of love and while I had plenty of that - again lack of time was a problem. I work full time, go to school full time and am fairly active in my church, so that left a lot of time where Bella was sitting at home alone in my apartment and it just wasn't fair to her.

And her eating my furniture wasn't fair to me....

Couch eating puppies go to puppy jail.

I'm happy to say with some help from Hobby Lobby and a bit of skill with a staple gun and some needle and thread sofa has been returned to new(ish).

But that was the final straw - the couch wasn't the first thing she'd eaten. I have a nice whole in the sheetrock in my dining room wall that's calling for my skill with spackling thanks to her as well.

So last Saturday we loaded up all of her toys, beds and other stuff in the car and took a drive to Gulf Breeze, FL to meet her new dad. A guy my mom met on OKC has adopted her. He used to raise pits has a boy puppy now that he'd like to breed. Bella is a beautiful pup so I've no doubt she'll make pretty puppies.

He also has a big yard for her to run in and kids that will play with her until she can't play anymore. His little girl came with him to meet me to pick Bella up and they just loved each other instantly so I know she'll be much happier in her new home.

I called the next afternoon to see how she did with the transition and he said she whined a little at bedtime, but he put her bed in his room on the floor and after a while she went right to sleep. He said that she'd ran and played in the back yard for hours and had a grand time so all is well.

Farewell my Bell - you shall be missed.




And then the 'Crazy Cat Lady' had no pets at all...

That's why they call it...puppy love

Someone has a boyfriend...

No it isn't me. Well who is it you ask? Bella, my Pit Bull puppy.

Something is seriously wrong when your damn dog has better luck picking up men than you do.

Anyway. Moving on.


A little over a month ago Bella and I were sitting out in the courtyard at my apartment while I was waiting for my laundry to dry. It was a gorgeous day out and I was letting her enjoy herself playing and rolling around in grass.

Well while we were soaking up the sun a guy walked up with a much bigger dog and let me tell you, it was slobber and neck biting at first butt sniff.

They ran and played and beat the crap out of each other for thirty minutes at least, then Michael; Bella's new boyfriend's dad said they needed to be getting back to their apartment, and the fun was over.

Ahh the parting was sad, both pulling at their leashes, wanting time for just one more roll in the grass, but with a promise of a later play date they finally gave in and Capone went home.

Now we have a standing agreement that whenever we see each other out the leashes come off and the slobbering commences.

Here are some pictures of the frisky pups having fun. Capone is a Pit mix, his dad is not quite sure what he's mixed with but judging from the size he is now and that he's barely over a year old I'm thinking maybe it's Great Dane. Or horse.

I guess he thought she needed a pedicure?

Capone being a gentleman, letting the lady drink first.

Michael having a chat with the puppies about proper courting behavior

**Edit** The most popular comment I get on this post is 'Does Michael have a girlfriend?' Yes he does, and a hot one at that lol. But even if he didn't, he's not really my type. So I'll just stick with worrying about our 'children' dating :)

The 'Crazy Cat Lady' has gone to the dogs..

Does that mean I have a split personality?

Hi my name is Sybil. - No I'm Sybil! - No you can't be Sybil because I'm..

Ok enough of that.


The real news is..


I got a puppy!!!!!!!!!

She is a 12wk old Pit bull. I named her Bella because she is just B-E-A-U-tiful.

She's also a handful, but I'm loving it. And because I'm such a wonderful pet mommy I get up early and walk her every morning, so I'm getting more exercise than I have in months.

You want to see her don't you? I'd want to see her too, she really is just adorable. I mean she has these super bright green eyes and big ole floppy ears and.. oh heck why don't I just show you.

I mean seriously, have you ever seen anything more adorable?

I'd really been wanting a puppy for some time now, but wasn't keen on the whole potty training thing. I have all hardwood floors. That's a lot of possible puddles to step in ya know?

I've been browsing craigslist for the past few weeks and last Wednesday morning I checked the pet section and there she was! I emailed the lady and we arranged for me to go 'meet' Bella, who was Scarlett at the time, and see how I liked her.

It was love at first sight. She's so sweet, and loving and I just want to eat her up. So I loaded her and her gate, food bowl and toys in the car and home we went! She got a little excited in the car on the way home and piddled on her bed that was lying on the floor board, but thankfully it was pretty thick (the bed, not the pee) and didn't soak through to the carpet. Then when I got her home she had one more accident right when we got in the door but since then she's been fabulous about the pottying.

Oh did I mention she was already house trained? YAY! I bought some puppy pads and leave one in her pen during the day while I'm at work just in case but so far so good!

She's very smart and has already learned to sit on command. Before I put her leash on her to go for our walk or to go potty I tell her to sit and she does so well. We're working on stay now, but I think that will take a bit more time, she's very excited about the world around her and just can't wait to check things out.

I told myself I was going to be really strict about certain things, like bedtime and I had every intention of following through with that but.. I'm thinking Miss Bella may already have me wrapped around her little puppy paw.

She has a super thick duvet cover that's in the corner of my room for her bed. I even bought her a pillow because the first time she went in my room she jumped right up on my bed and laid her head on mine.

And at bedtime she did really good and went and laid on her bed and went to sleep. But she's one smart little girl. Around 2am I woke up and she's curled up behind me with her head on the pillow right next to mine. I put her back on the floor and sent her to her bed, but that didn't last long. As soon as I nodded off she's right back in the bed with me.

I know I could put her bed in the living room to try and discourage her, but I sleep with my door open so she'd just come back in there anyway. Besides, it's not like I have a hot man to share my bed with so I don't mind the company. And she's so sweet, she likes to cuddle and lay her head on my shoulder and it just makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Not to self - pets are nice but they are not to be used as a substitute for real male companionship. That is how the 'Crazy Cat Lady' came to be.

Speaking of male companionship, I've begun talking to a couple of fellas this week. Just chatting, nothing too progressive as of yet, but I'll keep you posted!

Blanco cat isn't too thrilled with the new housemate. He's taken up residence on top of the kitchen cabinets since Bella moved in, but I think with time they'll be come fast friends. Here he is making a fast run for his treat bowl after I put Bella in her pen.

They will get nose to nose and check each other out, then Bella wants to play and starts jumping around and Blanco high tales it to the cabinet top. It drives Bella crazy too, because she wants to play soooo bad and she can't jump up on the cabinet like the cat can so she'll sit in front of the cabinet and whine until she gets distracted by something else, then it's like kitty who?

It's almost 5 and I have some actual work to do before time to go so I'll wrap this up and leave you with some more pictures of my pretty girl. If you have a myspace you can check mine out, I have a whole folder of pictures of her!

Mom's bed is so comfy

What do you mean I have to get down?!

Going for our morning walk.

Oops.. no more stuffed animals for Bella!

He was the cat's meow..

Back in October of 2005 I adopted two baby kitties from a lady I went to church with.

I've never been much of a cat person, but I wasn't home enough to house break a new puppy and I was tired of coming home every day to a silent empty house.

The cat adoption coercion went something like this.

Me: (sigh) being single sucks.. I'd gotten so used to coming home to someone that now walking into an empty house every day is starting to really get old.

Terri: A friend of mine just had a litter of kittens! (the friend's cat, not the friend) I told her I'd find them homes for her. You should come get one!!

Me: I don't like cats. I'm a dog person.

Terri: Well why not? They're adorable!!

Me: They're cold impersonal obnoxious creatures who only want to be messed with on their terms and act like they're doing you a favor by letting you take up space in their house. (sounds like some people's description of me! )

Terri: Nooo they're the sweetest cutest most adorable little things. You like kittens right?

Me: Sure everyone likes kittens. They're sweet and cuddly when they're small, but they grow up to be cats.

Terri: Oh come on.. just come look at them.

Me: Ooook.

Fast forward - I go to her house after church one Sunday and she leads me to the kitchen where I find the most adorable bunch of peach & white fur balls I've ever seen. I picked a couple of and petted them. They purred and licked my fingers. I admit I was hooked. They were so tiny and soft and adorable.

So I caved. I told her I'd take one and looked over them again to decide which one I wanted. As I'm examining each kitten and staring deep into each pair of tiny eyes to see which one I connected with most she pounced. My friend, not the kittens.

Terri: Mollie... you really should take 2, so they won't be alone all day while you're at work. They're so tiny and there is always someone home here to play with them and give them attention. If you took two they would keep each other company.

Me: Raised eyebrow. (I could give the Rock a run for his money with my eyebrow raising skill)

Terri: I mean it.. look how much they love each other. You said it yourself you're at work all day and it would be home by it's tiny little self.

Me: (caving)

So I ended up with two little peach & white balls of fur. I'm at work as I'm writing this so the earliest picture I have of them is when they were about 3 months old, but even then they're adorable.

Meet Pesca & Blanco

Who and what? I decided if I was going to have cats that they would have unique names. I wasn't naming my pets Felix or Garfield or some other generic cat name. So I got creative. Remember I told you they were peach and white right? Well except for a little white on Blanco's nose when they were kittens you could hardly tell them apart so I decided to make use of the color difference. Blanco is - of course - white in Spanish. Pesca is Peach in Italian. It also means "it fishes" in Spanish, which I thought was pretty appropriate for a kitty. Why two different languages? Well melocotón is peach in Spanish. Ya.. I don't think so. And Bianco is white in Italian, which sounded to close to Bianca to me. I have boy kitties. I was not giving them a complex with female sounding names.

So for a little over two years I've been mommy to two of the smartest, loving, attention needing kitties on the planet. I swear they think they're part dog and human. They meet me at the door when I get home from work. They roll over on their backs to have their tummies rubbed. They follow or rather lead me to the kitchen every single morning as soon as I wake up to give them their treats. They open cabinet doors and drawers. They open my dresser drawers and lay inside on top of my socks. If I'm late getting home or if I go out of town for a day or two it's not unusual to come home and find the kitchen drawer where I keep their treats open. And the treats missing.

I use to give them soft treats out of a can then I came home one day to find the kitchen cabinet open and a can of tuna on the floor. No lie. I swear. Thankfully they weren't able to get it open but I switched to hard treats in little bags after that. I could just foresee coming home to an unconscious cat because one had been waiting on the floor patiently while the other swatted a can of something or another out of the cabinet and onto his head.

I even tried using latches to child cat-proof the cabinets. No such luck. One of my former roommates was standing in the doorway between the living room and kitchen in a house I was renting and she called me over. One cat was on top of the sink pushing down on the latch and the other was on the floor in front of the cabinet pulling the door open. Talk about some smart team working kitties. Let me tell you, I have never in my life wished so much for a video camera than I did at that moment. I'd be rich.

More cuteness

I even had them trained to use the toilet rather than a litter box for a while. Unfortunately my roommate at the time had to take temporary custody of the cat her and her separated husband shared and he was an old cat with a bum leg. Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks obviously never had a cat. There was unfortunately no teaching that old cat to use anything but a litter box. Sure enough as soon as we put a little box back out my cats went right back to using it. Grr. It was so nice not having to mess with litter. They'd hop up on the potty and do their thing and all I had to do was flush!

Well in the past 6 months or so I seem to be a lot more busy than I normally am. I suppose that may have something to do with my decision to finally get a life. Anyway, I haven't had as much time to love on the kitties and give them the attention they're used to. My kitties have very different personalities.

Pesca is very laid back with a touch of mischievousness. He'll jump up on the counter or bookshelf, look at you then proceed to swat something off onto the floor then hop down and go about his business. I don't know if he just likes the sound things make as they hit the floor or if he thinks it's funny for me to chase him through the house yelling like a banshee. He does however love to be loved on. He likes his ears scratched, his tummy rubbed and he lives for playing with (and biting) my feet.

Blanco on the other hand is that timid child that appears to be velcroed to his parents leg for the first 7 or 8 years of their life. He's very very needy. If I'm petting Pesca, Blanco will come up and push him out of the way so he can be petted instead. He'll sit on the bed every night right next to my face and meow non-stop until I pet him for ever about 5 minutes before he'll go to the end of the bed to sleep. If I'm watching TV he'll flop himself on top of my feet and meow until I pay him attention and if that doesn't work to his satisfaction he'll hop up on the back of the couch and meow in my face.

I know, my cats are slightly uhh mentally challenged special. It's ok. I love them anyway.

So with less time to love on them and one cat being much more needy than the other I've started feeling like a neglectful parent and Pesca hasn't been getting the attention and love he's used to. I know you're probably thinking.. dude this chic is wack, they're cats, they don't care. Hmm on second thought, I can't imagine someone who would actually talk like that being interested in reading my blog, but you get what I'm saying or er saying you're saying. Got it? Good. Moving on.

So after much deliberation I decided to put Pesca up for adoption. I would much rather him go to a caring home with someone who will lavish all the love and attention on him he deserves than keep him and watch him sit across the room staring at me with big sad kitty cat eyes because his fat needy brother hogs all the attention. I posted on Craigslist.com and in less than a week I got a call. Don't worry I asked a hundred questions and made sure his new mommy was acceptable, lived in a nice, clean, smoke-free house and was a verifiable animal lover. She even volunteers at the ASPCA so I felt confident he was going to a home that would treat him well. The adoptive parent picked him up Monday evening and I called her later that night to see how he was doing. I'll call again today, just to make sure he's adjusting well.

I'm sad and I miss him, but I feel better knowing he's being given all the attention he wants and needs. Blanco isn't handling the separation too well. The first night he didn't seem to even notice his brother was gone, but every morning and night since then he's wandered around the apartment meow'ing and calling out for him. They have a funny little half meow, squeak dialect they use to talk to each other (and the birds outside) and you can tell he's just waiting for Pesca to answer him. That's the main reason why I gave away his brother instead of him. Pesca is much more people friendly and I was pretty sure he'd adapt to a new home better than Blanco.

So if you're an animal lover I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd send prayers, positive thoughts, happy vibes, whatever you do out to Pesca & his new mommy. Send a few for me & Blanco too so maybe we'll be less sad about losing our friend.

I'll leave you with some pictures of Pesca...

Yours truly,

One cat short of crazy