For Cricket

Did you know? All you have to do it suggest a posting topic, and lo. This one is for Cricket, please go and say hello to her.

As requested: an update on the kittens

It's all about the poop. We have been keeping them isolated from their older siblings because they spent their first 6 weeks out of doors and we wanted to be sure any worms, fleas, feline leukemia, and impure thoughts were expunged before we mingled the generations. They spent the first 2 weeks in our unused upstairs kitchen. Then we realized the rush towards us every time we entered the room was not a show of affection, but a desperate rush to freedom. They don't know about the extremely cranky and bitchy cat who already rules the roost.

Anyhoo, we decided we should give them more space, so it's now big cats upstairs, little cats downstairs. Except for this morning when my husband accidentally let Big n' Bitchy out (who, it turns out, is more interested in kitten food than kittens), it's been a pretty successful experiment. It is hilarious to be interrupted every 20 minutes at the computer by needle-sharp claws up and down your shins. Ha ha. Oh, ha ha ha ha. Except they also sit behind the laptop screen and peer over every few just so see if I'm still there. THAT makes it worth the scratching and the biting and the bad kitten breath.

What was I saying?

Oh, poop. So, the down side to the expanded freedom is that they are having a little trouble distinguishing fluffy down comforters from litter boxes. The first time, it was just some tinkle. But on Saturday night, at about 11:30, drunk as a skunk and about to collapse into bed, I discovered the most foul, wet and smelly pile of kitten poop smack in the middle of the pure white bed. Ag. I mean, I didn't get dogs so that I could avoid having to confront poop that isn't at least 3 hours old, dried, and nicely floured over with magical dust.

Other than that, they are delightful, and sweet. They have this trilling noise they do that's not quite a meow and it's so adorable. I'm hoping they will stay lap cats, our other two are pretty standoffish in that department. Tomorrow I give them their last dose of worming meds, and then we introduce them to Big n' Bitchy and Ms. Scaredypants. I expect a few weeks of drama and fighting over poop pans and food, then a Peaceful and Serene cat kingdom. And the claws? Are totally coming off. We're going to do it when we take them in for the desexification at about 6 months. We gave it some very careful thought but it's happening.

Oh, what you meant was you wanted kitten pictures? Not stupid kitten stories?
Here ya go:

and three others

Also, has anyone been following the bizarre 13th district congressional race in North Carolina? The  challenger has raised his opponent's childlessness as an issue. His wife had a hysterectomy at age 27 due to endometriosis (according to the news reports). From a recent story in the local paper:

Are claims pertinent?

Robinson said he brought up the Millers' childlessness in the broader context of showing that Miller was outside the mainstream. He said being childless might influence Miller's votes, citing Miller's opposition to providing vouchers to allow children in Washington, D.C., to attend private schools.

"Those were stated in the context to explain why he takes these lunatic positions," Robinson said. "If he had a child, he would not have voted against all the poor children of the District of Columbia who need to get out of the failing dangerous schools they were in."

The Robinson mailing also seeks to tie Miller to Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, a Californian who runs The Daily Kos, the nation's largest liberal Internet blog. The Robinson literature describes Moulitsas, who is a married Army veteran, as a "militant homosexual rights advocate" under the headline: "Brad Miller's San Francisco Soul Mate."

Miller said Robinson was clearly using code words to suggest that Miller is gay. Miller said his only connection is that he, like numerous other congressmen and former President Jimmy Carter, posts a diary on Moulitsas' Web site to reach millions of Democrats. Miller recently met Moulitsas for the first time at a Raleigh book signing.

The article was written by a local paper, and I haven't exhaustively researched this, but the few things I've already read are pissing me off. And I mean beyond the base and inhumane attack on a fellow infertile. What really gets me is the attempt to balance the analysis of the two candidates, instead of presenting the obviously true perspective that Robinson is a total nutbag. Something similar happened in Illinois when Obama was running: after the Republican frontrunner, a ManBarbie who turned out to have taken his famous actress wife to sex clubs in Paris (oops!), dropped out, Alan Keyes came to town and joined the race last-minute. I don't know how that guy wasn't ridiculed out of town the first day, but he managed to get like 33% of the vote. I believe it was because no local paper ever ran the completely accurate and true headline: "Keyes: Nutbag."

I'm supposed to be working, so I'd better get to that. But I'm anxiously awaiting posts from Amanda later today and Thalia tomorrow, so mostly it will be a few days of hitting refresh. Good luck, you two, and fervent, fervent good wishes.

Comments

[Spanglish]

I love the one that explains why you get no work done at home.

We went to the pet store on Saturday to buy food for the fish, and there were kittens for sale. One reminded me of the lighter of your two, but its face was not nearly as pretty. It's paws were gigantic though.

[Waiting Line]

I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear about Amanda and Thalia too. ((Go check out Amanda - good news.)) Let's hope good news spreads like wildfire!

As for your pooping mess, I hope it gets sorted soon!

[Cricket]

Thank you so much, Mary Scarlet. You truly made my day. They are gorgeous. And they remind me why kittens are such a challenge, but ooooh so worth it. Except for the poopy bed.

[amanda]

Thank you, Mary. Your furballs are absolutely adorable. I love seeing the pictures. So freaking cute. I hope the poop situation improves, because that's never fun.

[statia]

AGH!! Kitten cuteness. The poop thing is just not cool though. Thankfully dogs won't go where they sleep.... most of the time, so we've been lucky there. However, in my closet, covered up under a dirty sock? Totally different story.

[Donna]

It's too bad noone has figured out how to make a cat that continues to look like a kitten after it's learned how to use the litter box. Thanks for the cute pix!

[thalia]

Wow those kittens are really adorable. I'm not surprised you can't get any work done! And thanks for all the kind thoughts.

[EJW]

Your kittens are adorable. They remind me of when our 16-lb monster was a baby, and he would play REALLY hard for about 8 minutes and then just crash and need a half hour nap. He's still super curious, though, and loves to "help" with the laptop.