How did we get here?

Well, here we are 2020.  Almost the end of 2020.  Where has the time gone?  I was but a kitten when I was whisked away from my Midwestern home to the country called Tejas...or Texas.  Since then in 2004, I have written a little, but Mother seems to think that my writing will be cathartic for me.  I think it might be more for her, but because I love her, I will do so for her.

I haven't even introduced you to "The Girls."  These girls, Stella and Lucy came to the house with brothers, Zeus and Monti.  When they arrived, only 8 weeks old they were full of fleas.  Father found them outside his library and brought them home.  That brought us to 10 cats.  As much as mother loves cats, 10 was too much of a crazy cat lady situation for her.  She found a lovely purrrson who took the boys, and we all accepted The Girls.  That gave us 8.

But now we are 7.  One night after Mother let us all out into the backyard, this was before our catio, she mistakenly didn't count all of us because she wanted to make sure the little girls also came in.  Meyer was left outside.  Mother didn't notice it until the next morning at breakfast when Meyer wasn't there.  She went outside and found black fur stuck to the fence.  He got out under the fence.  He was gone for 9 weeks.  Mother thought he had gone down the storm drain during the rains that week and got swept out to Galveston Bay.  She watched her hair go down the drain in the shower and would think that hair too would meet Meyer at the bay through the sewer system.  She was beside herself.  She didn't count.  He was gone.  She put up signs, posted on all social media and cried.  And cried. And cried.

Then one day, her friend Eric from Virginia called her office and said "I am glad you got Meyer back".  Meyer was not back, but Eric thought he was.  It turns out that something must have told Eric that because just a short time later, Mother got a message on Facebook from a neighbor down the street who said "I think I found Meyer."  It was so weird.  That event has made Mother love Eric even more, because he must of gotten a message from an Angel.  Cats and Mother believe in Angels.

Anyway, Meyer was in bad shape.  Mother and Father took him to the vet, Mother reached out to her retired veterinarian now genealogist friend Michael to get advice, she took Michael's advice and got Meyer to the emergency vet.  Michael was very sweet to console Mother.  Meyer had lost half of his body weight was in liver failure, his ears were yellow, he couldn't hold up his head, and so much more.  Meyer was given to become an Angel.

To this day, Mother really hasn't forgiven herself.  In fact, she got a tattoo to memorialize him.  His brother Oscar still misses him, and when Mother holds Oscar, she can tell he knows that he misses Meyer too.

There are so many more things going on, COVID (OMG they have been home soooo much) and I am driving Mother crazy with bothering her.  No genealogy conferences to go to which really bothers a social butterfly (Mother, not me), and she has even closed the door to her office when she has done "Zoom" presentations.  The only zooming I am doing is when the I feel the urge to act like a kitten again (I'm 16 now) or when she yells at me to move away from her because I am bugging her.  I just don't understand how knocking off things from the desk, scratching at walls, and at paper piles, and walking all over her computer bug her.  In fact right now, I am indicating it is treat time and almost bedtime.  You know I have always lived on a schedule and things have been messed up with the pandemic.

Mother was right, this was cathartic, so maybe I'll just keep it up. Know all of you reading this who have been waiting for years for a new post, just might see more.

Mother wanted me to remind you to wash your hands, socially distance and wear a mask that matches your outfit...and make sure it has cats on it.

Until next time....save your home planet and VOTE!

Love, 

Harry

 

Long Time

Hello Everyone,
Mother and I will admit it has been a really long time since we have written.  Tonight things might change
#journeysecofstate

Hello -  it has been so long since I have written and so much has gone on in my cat life. Mother has acquired more cats, Grandma Tara has passed away, Mothers Father has bought a house in Texas; Walter still grooms me, Sam is 6 years old...and yes, those kittens.  

Those kittens, Oscar, Meyer and Fisher came to Mother and Father 3 years ago now. Where does the time go?  They are fine, we (the big boys, as Mother calls us) Myself, Walter and Sam) have accepted them unequivocally.  They actually most often keep to themselves, which has garnered them the title of "the little boys."  They are fine, except that Meyer, he meows consistently, most often at night, like a dog who barks all the time. Mother says he is the one that most resembles his mother, Olivia.  Olivia was adopted by one of Mothers volunteers at the library.  Good thing, because when she rescued the kittens and Olivia, we had a very high cat to space ratio in the house.  Grandma Tara was still alive. Yes, that made 8.  You can think of her as a cat lady.  It's ok.  

Now, of course the most important thing that has happened in the past few years is my rise to photo stardom.  It started when Mother entered my "dreamy" picture in my veterinarians photo contest.  I, of course was chosen to win.  That got me a personal photo shoot at the house with a professional photographer.  See the pictures of that session here .  Then Mother entered what has now become my publicity picture to Morris the Cats 2013 9 Lives Cat Calendar contest.  I was chosen (of course) much to Mothers excitement (you humans might remember that from the 17 DEC 2012 Facebook post) to be one of six cats, in February.  Of course the most "dreamy" month of the year! 

Now, as all of you know, she has entered me, once again in another photo contest.  I purrrrsonally would like to thank all of you for 1. (especially) humoring Mother by voting for me 2. voting for me 3.and for continuing to make me a star.  Mother is hoping that someone from some big cat affiliate will find my picture and make me even a bigger star, to which finally all this publicity might bring in some royalties....but even if it doesn't, I know I am number one in Mothers heart.  I will continue to purr when I am near her, and she will continue to call me her "big guy". 

Birthday

Today is a milestone. Mother, my mother, turns 50. In cat years that is about 8 or 10 years old. Mother is older than I am. I am 6.

Mother has been worried about turning 50. As Grandfather said, she now has more years behind her than she does in front of her.

I hope not. Mother should live a long and healthy life. Please come home soon Mother from Florida so I can give you your birthday paw hug.

We all love you.

Elder Care

Mother is in Florida.

She has been there for a week, and will be gone another 4 days.

Mother has gone to take care of her father. Grandfather had what humans call knee replacement surgery. Cats do not have knees, although we do have something like that on our back feet. Mother has been communicating through Father who has told me that Grandfather has not been having a very good time. Grandfather ended up in what humans call ICU, twice. It was very scary. On the home planet we call it "the area of high observation". Although here in earth, when we cats go into "an area of high observation" it usually means being put in a cage.

Grandfather feels as if he is in a cage. He has been in the hospital for 17 days now. Currently he is very antsy (I feel this way now too, Mother has been gone way too long, and I want her home). Grandfather is younger than Grandma Tara, but still at an age when humans need special care. Mother is a very caring person and has been there for all of us, and is very loving. Grandma Tara has lived so long because Mother has taken very good care of her.

She is taking very good care of her father. She loves her father very much and is afraid to be without him. I wish I were there so I could let Mother hold me as she does when my eyes bug out. I know she loves me very much when she does that.

It is very interesting how the humans during life end up in a role reversal situation where the children take care of the parents. As we on the home planet move on with our parents blessings, we often do not take care of our elders, since most of us are very healthy and have 9 lives.

Mother does not want to be alone. Grandfather will work very hard to get better, he has a long haul. but will eventually be okay. Mother loves her father, and is very grateful that when he needed it, the angels came and brought him back. Medical care personnel are angels.

I love Mother.

Grandma Tara

Well, although it has been awhile since I have reported, it is not for lack of things that have been happening. This summer was spent teaching Sam not to jump the fence, an act that usually results in our being swooped into the house by Mother. Not a good scene, especially since we need to be outside so our fur can absorb vitamin C. In turn we lick our fur to get the vitamin C so we don't get........scurvy.

The summer was hot and humid. You humans have not harnessed power that comes from alternative sources, so each summer, the bill for the generation of power gets very expensive. That is an interesting observation; how the companies that hold a needed commodity seem to stick it to the humans during a time of dire need. Texas is a sweltering place, the Midwest is much more civilized.

Well, really this musing is about how much love humans have for us, or maybe how much Mother can spiral in a traumatic situation. I will begin by saying that this entire time this event was going on, I was sitting by the door fretting also.

Grandma Tara needs an ankle bracelet. She is 19, has terrible cataracts, and weighs only about 5 pounds for those of you who have known her most of her life.

She is not afraid of the garage door. I nevertheless am. The minute Father or Mother open the door and I am in the garage, I fly into the house. Grandma Tara, believes this is an opportunity to escape. She did. She was outside in the dark for about 2 hours.

My observation of Mother was to watch her spirial into have Grandma walking away in an Alzheimer's way and dying on the side of the road.... She told Father she was ready to take a lawn chair out to the driveway and sleep there until Tara came home.

Well, before Mother put out an Amber alert, Grandma was found....but not before the local neighborhood police officer, neighbors on the street, kids walking the neighborhood, people in cars, people unloading cars in their drive way and anyone else who would listen knew that "an old really thin dark gray tabby, Tara, who kinda is a Alzheimer's kitty" was out on the street, and Mother lives in the house on the corner.

Mother also had already even spiraled into that if she never found Tara, how could she not have her ashes with all the other kitties. Tara has always had bad luck. When she was younger, Mother locked her in a closet in Elmwood, IL for a weekend.

Anyway, Grandma was found after a couple of hours about 6 houses down the street sitting looking at the front door. Mother called her, she just sat there. Mother picked her up, and brought her home.

Personally, I have a special place in my heart for Grandma Tara. Although she squawks all the time, and really wonders who I am, I really love her. And so does Mother who never would have forgiven herself if anything happen to Tara.

We are all home now. Whew.

Celebration of the moon landing and more

Today is the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. 40 years. We viewed the landing and celebrated with you. Although we are much more advanced, we applaude your attempt at space travel. It would be a shame if your space agency, NASA lost some of it's funding. Neverless, Apollo was a bold move, you have changed all of mankind.

On another note, Mother has informed me that the Chicago landmark, the Sears Tower has had it'n name changed to the Willis Tower. I will inform the home plant of the landmark change. Although Mother said she was not happy about that. It will always be the Sears Tower to her.

I will be pondering other things as I observe. A head butt to all my humans....

Love,
Harry