Thursday, July 12, 2012


Okay, I admit, I go overboard on furry (and not so furry) creatures. We have a 120lb dog, a cat, a lizard,  a goldfish, a beta fish, 4 minnows, and a herd of deer that arrives each evening, expecting food.  In the winter, we have 6-8 raccoons, 2 opossums, and a fox that show up on the front porch for handouts each night. They all have names and are hand fed.  Then you have to factor in the two feral cats that I feed that bare liters of kittens under our porch each Spring, that I bring into the house and raise until they can be adopted.  I am Dr. Doolittle. 

If you are an animal lover, you probably think I am pretty cool.  If you are PilotHusband, you do not.  PilotHusband is not an animal lover.  He doesn't even like the goldfish that come in the little snack boxes from Mother D catering!  So, you can imagine the conflict that occurred several weeks ago when flooding rains drove a wee kitten onto our back porch.  It was hardly two weeks old, and soaked to the bone.  Of course, I brought it in and bottle fed it milk and syringe fed it pureed chicken baby food every few hours until it regained strength.  Our young son named the kitten QT (cutie, get it?) and became very attached to it.  Knowing PilotHusband's dislike for all things small, cute, and fuzzy, I took the kitten to work with me each day. At night, she stayed in the bathroom, safe from the very big dog and very big cat that already lived with us.  I also explained to our child that we were just going to get the kitten big enough and healthy enough to be adopted, and we would find her a nice family to live with.  Eventually, QT gained strength, began eating regular kitten food, and made friends with the dog and the cat.  We allowed her to roam freely around the house.

PilotHusband sighed.  PilotHusband stomped.  PilotHusband put together strings of curse words I had never heard combined in such a manner.  PilotHusband was very very very angry.  Then PilotHusband got sleepy so he laid on the couch to watch the Military Channel.  That's when it happened!  The kitten jumped on the couch, curled up next to PilotHusband's chest and watched Wings Over the Pacific, while purring loudly.  The kitten not only liked airplanes, but was a fan of the Military Channel!

I arrived home from work that day to find PilotHusband talking to the kitten, feeding it bits of Salmon.  "This is the coolest cat EVER!" he proclaimed.  Then the two of them settled back on the couch to watch The High and The Mighty together.  So, QT the cat is now a permanent member of the family, and PilotHusband's new Best Friend.  What a sucker!


  1. I have to laugh sounds kind of like my pilot. We have 3 horses 5 dogs and 5 cats, and every time I bring one home (we ARE maxed out right now!) Hubby does the same thing; swears then complains about how much it is to board them when we go on vacation, and the minute I look away he's trying to feed all of them (including the cats) table scraps to make them his "friends."

  2. It is nice that you try to get kittens homes, but allowing them to breed new kittens every year is not helping animals at all. Spaying + Neutering is what true animal lovers do so that animals on death row in shelters can take those spaces in loving homes. There are low cost spay/neuter clinics and if the problem is catching them you can use a humane trap.

    1. Dear reader,
      You are soooo right. I have worked with "Friends of Feral Cats" in the past to spay and neuter these sweet creatures. We have managed to get one Momma cat to the clinic to stop adding to the problem, but the other one remains elusive. We'll keep trying. I couldn't agree more! Thanks for reading.

  3. Tuna works great in the humane traps for catching them...they can't resist! :) I put water in there too and check super regularly.

    Alley Cat Allies has GREAT info on their site and taught me so much years ago when we started having strays show up like crazy:

    This is the trap I use:


  4. Thank you soooo much for the info! I really appreciate it.
    :) APW