First, there was Conan. We went out and bought him from a breeder. He’s my Wonderkitty. Then we got Schrodinger from a neighbor whose cat had had a litter- she had kept two kittens from a previous litter, mama is now spayed. Then Mom brought Thunder, who had been abandoned by a neighbor of one of her mentally retarded clients (she does transitional assisted living supervision). Thunder bascally became Mom’s kitty- Schrodinger is sort of the communal kitty, he meows at whoever happens to be in the room when he wans attention.
Our next door neighbors are asses. They had a cat that was let out unsupervised a lot and disappeared. Kids were heartbroken. found a sign stuck on a lamppost saying a cat matching Sylvester’s description, called the lady and explained about the neighbor’s missing cat, and from what I could tell, it sounded lke Sylvester. As far as I know, the neighbors never even called after I gave them the sign and said I though it might be their cat.
About the time we got Thunder, they picked up a kitten. When the time came for new leases to be signed, they learned that the complex, on top of raising the rent by $50/ month is now charging $20 per pet "pet rent’, as well as now requiring pet ownng tenants to carry $100,000 liability insurance and this is on top of pet deposits we’ve already paid that will not be refunded. They also started charging (way overcharging, actually) tenants for water, which ued to be included in the rent as well as other miscellaneous fees that have been added. Mom and I, even without the pet rent, are being priced out of the apartment we’ve been living in for five years. We’re going to be moving next week to a less expensive place that doesn’t charge extra for pets. The neighbors answer to the pet rent and liability situation was to deny that they owned a pet and to shut him out of their apartment. Note- this kitty was also allowed to run outdoors a lot, and they wouldn’t take him to the vet to be neutered, even after my my mom offered to pay for it, said they didn’t have time to take him. :o . My mom made several attempts to catch said kitty, but he would always run away from her. Until the day before yesterday, when he came in through the pet door. Within five minutes of getting home from work, I had named him Gamma and gotten very fond of him.
Now mom is thinking about giving two of the kitties to one of her clients, who would provide a very loving home, and just keep Conan and Schrodinger. I never really bonded with Thunder- he pretty much attatched himself to Mom, so even though I like him, I’m not going to get bent out of shape over giving him away. Mom is very attatched to him, but she thinks four kitties is too many. Gamma is another story. He’s a very unusual cat- actually has many of the personality traits that led me to nickname Conan the Wonderkitty. Also, Conan and Schrodinger accepted him instantly- Thunder still doesn’t want to play nice. And I think Gamma moved in with us because he just decded he wanted to be our kitty. Basically, I think Gamma is just too cool not to have around. I think he’s part Abyssinian- doesn’t have the coloring, actually has very unusual markings, but he does have the Abby body build and personality.
Mom does have allergy problems, but I think regular applications of a dry shampoo designed to neutralize the allergy-causing components of cat dander will take care of that problem (mom had told me she was using it, turned out she lied, she was only wiping them down with pet wipes, so I’ve taken over that duty again). I have allergies, too, and I’ve already noticed a difference since shampooing the cats last night. Keeping the apartment aired out helps a lot too (we live in Vegas, and in the winter, the temperature isn’t that low in the daytime, so in the early afternoon hours, we can open the windows for a while.
I personally don’t think we have a cat overpopulation problem in the apartment. We live on the second floor, have a pet dor that will fit into the sliding door of the balcony, so if they find the space inadequate, they can go out on the balcony, or even climb up on the roof to play, which they do a lot. And we keep the litterbox on the balcony as well, so catbox odor really isn’t a factor. The new apartment is also second floor with kitty roof access.
If my mom’s client can’t get permission to take Thunder and Gamma, they will remain with us- she has to get permission from her father, her roommate, and Mom’s supervisor, but I really don’t want to part with any of the cats. I just love having them around, and they seem to get along pretty well. Thunder is even starting to accept Gamma, even though he really doesn’t want to play with him. Gamma seems to have this hero-worship thing with Conan- he follows the Wonderkitty around constantly, pouncing on him, trying to get him to play- Conan will play with him, but occasionally Gamma’s kittenishe exuberance gets to be too much and he hisses and growl- no threats, just saying, “Give it a rest, will you?”
I want to keep them all.
