Wow! It's almost 9! I never sleep that late! Nice to be able to though!
Charles is playing chauffeur today. He's driving us in for the cat's pre-surgery visit. I wonder if he has a cat carrier I could borrow? She'd ride OK in a box, but hey, if there's a cat carrier around, why not use it?! Maybe I should try taking the kitten in too. He could get a check-up and be ready for later, when he needs surgery. I'm sure they've dealt with feral kittens before and could handle him. If there's a cat carrier around I might do it. It's frustrating. We're going to the place the people on freecycle recommended as the best and cheapest (Golden State Humane Society,) but it's still an expense. With both cats it could easily keep me from paying down any debt this month.
I don't know what to do. You can't not take care of them, they're living beings. On the other hand, my focus is supposed to be on paying down debt. Spending this money was definitely not in the budget.
AND, my house smells like cat spray. Apparently the female got pissed at being in the bathroom all day yesterday, OR they had a fight (I'm betting on the pissed off one). I'm going to have to bleach the whole bathroom today and hope that helps. I really want to find them homes and get them out of here. If the eBay clothes I have in the living room take on the cat smell they'll be unsaleable.
I remind myself that Mary said she'd pay for the female to get fixed. I wonder why my brain isn't processing that, is fixed on thinking I'll be shouldering all the expense?
I call Charles and ask if they have a cat carrier. He's going to see if he can find it.
Charles called. He said he found a cat carrier and that he's on his way. I guess I'll be taking the kitten in too!
Charles is here. I go into the bathroom with the carrier. I reach into the kitten's box (he lives under the sink in a priority mail box that has bath salts in it) to get him. He hisses and tries to scratch me. I put the gardening gloves on, reach in, drag him out and put him into the carrier. Charles takes the carrier out to the truck. I wrap the Momma cat in a towel and carry her out.
Both cats are spending the ride meowing. Almost funny that they're singing together when they don't like each other.
I talk to Charles about the kitten's name. I'm trying to find a good name for him. He started out as "Beelzebub," because of the way he was lunging back and forth against the bars of the cage while hissing and spitting. Now, he doesn't seem like a Beelzebub and I think it's not the greatest name to tag him with so I'm trying to come up with a new one. I thought about calling him "Pinball." The same wild movements he had when I caught him could easily give him that name. Pinball seems like an awkward of a name though. Charles suggests "Bumper." I'm not thrilled with that, but it's the best of the three. "Bumper" it is for right now.
A sign on the door says all cats must be in carriers. I should have realized that! It's funny! The cat I really want to be seen is the one not in a carrier! I ask Charles to go in and see if they have a spare carrier they can lend us.
It's taking a long time. I'm standing outside holding Momma cat. There are a bunch of kids running around. She's getting scared. I go back and sit in the truck with her. Hah! Just a few minutes later a couple of big dogs (on leashes) go by right where we were. It was definitely the right decision to wait in the truck!
Charles comes out and says there aren't any appointments left for today. The vets are busy. We'll have to go home and come back tomorrow at 12:30. I can't do that! I have to be at Avalon by 2! The woman on the phone yesterday had told me to just come in, she hadn't said to come in at a specific time! I ask Charles to hold the cat and I go in to find out what's going on.
The Lady here is asking me why I had to have the cat looked at before she could be fixed! I tell her I don't know, it's just what the woman had told me had to happen. They tell me I can come back any day at 12:30 or Saturday at 8am. I won't be able to make it in at that time until next week, and I'll have to ask Charles when he's free. They have some cardboard cat carriers over in the corner. I ask if I can buy one (at least I'll be prepared next time!) They're $3. This is totally silly! She has to start a file for us so that I can buy the cat carrier! Oh well, I guess that's one less thing we have to do next time.
First she asks for my info, then she asks for the cat's name. Well, we're just buying a cat carrier and the Momma cat doesn't have a name yet. I say "Beelzebub." Oops! I forgot I changed it to "Bumper." Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter. She doesn't even get the Beelzebub reference. What a waste. I have to explain to her that it's another name for the devil. She asks the cat's sex. I say I don't know. I've been calling it a male, but I'm not sure. She asks his age, I say I don't know. One of the other ladies there chimes in saying that's why we needed the pre-appointment. That would be true, I suppose, if the kitten was the one I'd called about, but Momma cat, well, I know her sex! The other Lady asks if I have the kitten here and in a cat carrier. I say I do. She says if I bring him in she'll take him back and show him to a vet to find out an approximate age for him. I go out to the truck and explain to Charles that I have to show them the kitten so they can get his age so they can make a file for him so they can sell me a $3 cardboard cat carrier. He says we should just go and buy a cat carrier at some other vet's. I figure I'm this far along I'll just go with it.
When the Lady comes back with the kitten she says he can have an appointment at 8am tomorrow to be fixed. I'm totally confused. That must show on my face because she repeats that he can have an appointment at 8 in the morning to be fixed, that he's old enough. OK. I wasn't planning on doing that yet, but now it seems like the right thing to do. I stammer out something like "but what about the other cat, the female." She asks me a few questions and asks how long she's been around the property. We end up with the knowledge that she's probably at least a year old. She says she can come in at 8am too! Yay! I should go out and ask Charles if he's free to drive us, but this process has been really long. I go ahead and set up appointments for them. I figure I can come back in and change the appointment if I need to. I have to leave a $20 deposit since I'm doing two cats. She can't find the record the other woman created. This time around, I give the kitten the name "Bumper." When she asks for the Momma cat's name I tell her I don't know and ask her for a good name for an orange and white cat. She says "Orangecicle." I don't like the name for this cat, but I'm going with it. Orangecicle it is, well at least for right now!
I take the kitten back out to the truck, tell Charles we have an appointment for the morning and ask if he's free to take us. He says he is. We're set!
At home, I put the cat carrier in the bathroom, open the door and leave, closing the bathroom door behind me, letting the kitten take his time coming out and finding his "safe" place.
When I go back to check, he is under the sink, but he's not in his box. He's on top of the bath bubble machine. Maybe his priority mail box doesn't feel safe any more? Since he was out where I could, I took a picture of him. Here he is.
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