Dooks to all.  My sincere condolences to all who have lost or who have sick
babies.  I ve had something in my eye several times.
 
Thought I d update you on Misty, my little rescue girl.  I posted when
Misty came to live with us, via that wonderful lady Helga Clark and her
equally wonderful husband Harvey.  Well, Misty has decided not to join
the whole Crew of Merry Mayhem.  No way, no how-don t ask her to do it.
When most of them get near her she screams bloody murder, and I mean
scream.  I had the windows open one day and had to shut them!  She does
love being with Alix and Socks, though, so they ve become roomies .  I
try to let the three out upstairs when the others are up, but you know
how pathetic 9 little faces look at you while three are out?????  It s
terrible!  All they need are little striped suites on they look so sad.  So
I ve started bringing the three downstairs and the other 9 stay upstairs.
Needless to say, there s just a wee bit of jealousy going on.  The 9 know
the three are down here, and one night I made the big mistake of bringing
Mookie down.  The only time a ferret got up behind the TV and climbed
around it.  He went back upstairs rather quickly, all the while with the
look on his face of Aw, MOM!
 
Now, upstairs Alix will get out of the cage, walk around a few minutes, go
back in, little miss frumpy.  Bring her downstairs and it s a whole new
ballgame.  She runs, she and Misty or she and Socks wrestle, she war dances
across the couches, gets in your food, just hysterical.  And Misty---well,
she bounces, she pounces, she flounces.  Socks even acts like a kit down
here.  They know they rule the roost and nobody else is down with them but
the cats.  And Socks manages to terrorize the cats while down here, and I
can almost hear him chuckling while he runs them out of his pathway.  Misty
has been wanting to get to the computer (I know she s a closet FLO member,
I just know it) but I managed to keep her out of it.  One of her first
nights down she got under the couch cushions and right into the couch.
Larry almost had heart stoppage-he wanted to turn the couch onto it s back
and tear it apart to get her!  I told him no, just get your hand down
there, and he got her.  Now we have blankets and such all over the couch,
and nobody is allowed to sit until the three are accounted for.  While they
re down here the cats eat their food and the fuzzies eat the cat s food.
Talk about role switching.
 
Tomorrow I bring home two new cats.  One of my professors did a nutritional
study with kittens and when he knew the study was drawing to an end he and
his techs started looking for homes.  They found homes for 24 cats in 2
days!  God help me if they ever do a nutritional study with ferrets!
Soooo, I m bringing two of the kittens home, and now will have to watch
these guys around the fuzzies till they get used to them.  Big problem with
the new kittens (yeah, right, 10 = month old kittens and we re talking BIG
kittens here) is they ve never been loose, so figure they re going to go
into hiding or just go bonkers.  Will have to make sure I take them into
where the fuzzies are and let them sniff them through the cages.  Won t
allow the fuzzy kids to get hurt, so will take time introducing and
integrating them with the fuzz butts and the other cats.  Just hope Chewie,
the ginger cat with the heart problem doesn t get too stressed out with the
new addition either.  We re talking a cat here (Chewie) who got so mad at
me when Socks came to live with us he refused to enter our bedroom for two
weeks!  Then when he did he d go sit and look at Socks and just glare at
him.  Of course, once Socks got near him Socks just terrorized the tar out
of him.  Now Chewie and the fuzzies get along (unless Socks takes a
perverse turn of mind and nips Chewie!)
 
So that s my update-Misty is doing wonderful as long as she interacts with
only Socks and Alix, and the rest just seem to sit and want to make her
scream!  To all who have sick babies, don t feel well themselves, or have
lost their kids, know that a lot of people are pulling for you and with
you.  You touch us all with your stories and your thoughts.
 
Rebecca & the Crew of Merry Mayhem
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste
good with ketchup
[Posted in FML issue 3019]