I admit that I have some vices, I like to have a drink or two now and then, I smoke but am really trying to quit and have cut back considerably. I love playing games on the computer when I'm bored and I LOVE CATS.
And to me cats are my vice. I collect cats, the kind you put on a shelf and look at and I have shirts with cats on them, some have sayings, but I also have the real kind. I even wrote a book about cats I used to have and other short stories about cats. Currently I have two indoor cats. Ms. Kitty who is 2 1/2, a gray striped tabby who thinks this is her house and we are allowed to occupy it with her and Shadow, a one year old long haired white with gray markings similar to a Siamese or Himalayan who is gentle and loving and takes Ms. Kitty's abuse.
There are times when the two of them get along famously but then there are the times when for no reason, she decides he has denied her something and she slaps the dickens out of him. He rarely retaliates but will slink away from her until she is over her tantrum.
I also have some outdoor cats. I have a yellow tom named Freddie, a solid black tom named Midnight, a gray tabby called Mean Mama who I can't catch and is continuously providing me with more kittens to find homes for. I did have another wild and mean female who has isolated herself from the others, but I don't think it was her choice. I think she was banned for some reason. Being wild, I have been unable to catch her but so far she isn't giving me litter after litter of kittens. Then there are the twins, two little girls kittens that I've tried to capture and give away but evade me. They are white like Shadow and beginning to show the gray markings so are beautiful cats but being female, I need to have them spayed if I am going to keep them and catching them is a job.
But this comes to a new segment in my outdoor cats lives. Mean Mama has three little kittens right now that I am trying to tame down to find homes when they are weaned. She recently brought them out so that they can learn how to eat the cat food and drink from the water dish I provide but they are also still nursing so not quite ready to take away yet.
But as with all kittens, just like babies, they are just so darn cute and it is so hard to part with them. They bounce around and play with each other, climb up on things and fall off but get right back up and do it again. They jump at each other as if they are big and brave and will scare the other one. They are at that awkward stage when they often stagger or fall when they are running. But they get right back up and keep right on going.
Kind of reminds me of toddlers as they begin to walk and run. And I guess baby kittens are like that too. They go through a toddler stage.
Now, comes my dilemna. There are three little cuties, a gray tabby which is a little girl, a calico with white, also a little girl and then there is Tippy. He is dark colored with white feet and white under his chin and on his face and just a tip of white on his tail. And he is a little boy.
Today, friends of my daughter were here and talked me into brining Tippy inside. He did settle down on my lap and went to sleep and seemed contented but I knew he isn't quite ready to leave Mama just yet so I did take him back to her later. Now I have to decide if I do want to bring him in and let Ms. Kitty and Shadow have a new playmate and also another stumbling block that will be at my feet or if I leave him outside to be with Freddie and Midnight who for tomcats seemed to like it here and never venture far from home.
Right now, Tippy is cute and sweet and cuddly but he will grow up to be a big cat and that is where I am having a problem deciding. With three cats inside, I know that will mean another food bowl, another litter box, more cat hair and more danger of one getting tangled up under my feet and tripping me. But then there is that moment when they are so loving and sit on my lap and close their eyes and purr, kneading me and letting me know how much they love me.
It is a hard decision and I know if I do leave him out, I will worry about him just as I do Freddie and Midnight. There is always the chance that they could get run over by a car if they would happen to run out into the road, or be attacked by a dog who is a cat hater, as we do have a few around the neighborhood, or even a wild animal as I have heard the coyotes running in the open area behind my house.
Freddie and Midnight have learned and as I said, they don't stray to far from the house and they have learned to avoid some of the pitfalls but there is always that chance they will be caught unawares and something could happen to them. I try not to think about it, but it happens.
Both are gentle souls who often play with the kittens and I'm sure that should I keep Tippy, they will take him under their care and train him the way things should be for a cat living outside. They do have a special place to go when it is raining or cold and so are kept warm and dry.
I do have allergies and I think my indoor cats do add to that but at the same time, I would be lost without their companionship. They seem to know when I'm sad or I'm ill and are right there to give me comfort and for me there is just something about having a cat or two in the house that makes it homey. I've had a lot of cats through the years and felt the heartache when I've lost them but I have been fortunate to find a new one that doesn't take their place, but gives me the comfort and companionship and fills my heart full of love for them while keeping my memories of the love I had for my lost companions.
Common sense tells me that I really don't need three cats living with me inside the house, while the softer side who loves cats is saying yes, please bring in the new bundle of joy to add to the family. And probably my common sense will just disappear once I know that Tippy is weaned and I expect that he will become a fixture inside, joining Ms. Kitty and Shadow and giving me a lap full of cats to love.
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