Mewing, not Meowing

Since I figured out how to change features on my blog, I figured that it is high time for a revamp. I hope you enjoy it. I'm trying to be more diligent with my blog posts, however it has been difficult to really “vlog” anything lately because when my hard drive crashed a while ago, some of my programs were lost, including all the Microsoft Word programs and my Dell Web Cam Central. Until I find an easy way to get a web cam video recorder program back on my computer, I'll have to improvise other ways to vlog. I really didn't think it would be that hard to re-download Web Cam Central. Apparently there are drivers and scans...blah! It's not like Skype where I downloaded that in a second for free. Don't know why this is more difficult.

By the way, Mom is doing well with recovering from her hip surgery. She has moved on from her walker to quite a stylish cane, and a few days ago had her staples removed. She has been stiff and been in pain, but taking it slow. We pretty much all are, because we have all been sick. I just got over bronchitis and now I caught my sister's cold. My mom had a fever the past two mornings, but has been feeling ok. Hopefully she will not catch anything. Luckily if anytime she were to get sick, at least it was not around the time of her surgery. That would have made the recovery process a bit more harder. Plus, we were on high alert the first few days she came home after her procedure because a high fever can be a sign of a staph infection. Luckily it stayed at a fairly normal level. Currently though, our family is keeping NyQuil in business.

Recently we have noticed that in our backyard, there has been an out of control cat problem. It has been this way for a few years. During the winter when it got colder, the cats found a home underneath our shed. One cat kept getting pregnant and there were litters of cats that would year round find shelter under the shed. This summer we were able to board up the gap underneath the shed to prevent that from happening. We have been doing the most humane thing we can do. In the past we have used humane traps borrowed from the SPCA to catch the cats of all ages. Some of them were tiny kittens and some were adult cats. Almost always have they been scared, aggressive, and feral. That is why we came across a very interesting case a couple nights ago.

It was Tuesday night and Quincy and Tucker, two of our three dogs {the ones who can hear}, were barking like mad at the front door. {Poor Shadow is 14 and deaf =( } We thought it was because our dad was home and they were reacting to that. As I walked to the front door I heard a very high pitched mewing, not meowing, outside. Right there on our front step, no less, was a very tiny kitten. Usually they would never come near the front door, especially with the dogs barking as they were. When we caught them, we could do nothing but hand them off to the SPCA and wish them well. With a feral cat at an adult age, it gets harder and harder to allow them to be domesticated and adopted. Erica, my mom, and I went outside and noticed that the kitten was hiding under the car and not darting away into the dark. Once coaxed out, Erica was able to grab her by throwing a light blanket over her and gingerly picking her up. We used one of the old cages once used for Tucker. She was very tired that first night just slept. Gradually she was able to walk around Erica's room and then on her lap. She eventually warmed up to all of us and is the most loving, trainable, and friendly feral cat I have ever seen. Despite the dogs barking from inside, she still came to our front door. She can't be more than six weeks old and is so tiny. I believe she either wandered away from her mother, or she was kicked out. Sometimes that happens when the mother gets pregnant again, she just abandons her babies. So sad.

I don't know what it is about this kitten, but she is special. We have kept her because we are just not comfortable handing her over to the SPCA or another shelter that might be a kill-shelter. We have been asking work friends and Facebook friends so that we may possibly be able to hand her off to someone we trust and might be able to get updates about. However, we still have an out of control CATastrophe {sorry haha}in our backyard. Despite blocking them from making a home under our shed, they are still reproducing and finding shelter somewhere. We are looking at several rescue organizations. We are really at a loss because some of them are booked up and can't take anymore cats. Seeing the strays constantly roaming and rummaging for food is absolutely heartbreaking. Our little kitten is the lucky one.

Emotionally, we did one of the worst things you could do at this stage. We named her! She has a patch of orange fur on the top of her head that looks like she is wearing the orthodox Jewish head cap called a yarmulke (Ya-Ma-Kah). When Erica mentioned this, I said that as yarmulkes are the more commonly recognized term for the sacred head cap, it is also called by another name in Hebrew which is a Kippah (Key-pah). I had only mentioned this in passing from what I had recently learned of the Jewish culture from a very informative man from the YouTube channel ronennachman770. (I am very interested in learning about all faiths) My mother perked up after I had said this and said, “Kippah! That's a wonderful name for her!” We cannot keep her unfortunately. My mom and I have cat allergies, and we have three dogs. Plus I am pretty sure Quincy could swallow her whole.

The praying has paid off because we have recently found her a good home. My Grandma Rose convinced her sister, our great Aunt Dorthy, to adopt her. It's looks like a perfect match. She does not have any other pets. She was actually cleaning out her basement and found a litter box. She decided not to throw it away for some reason. When I emailed her the picture of the kitten, she literally got goosebumps. I'm so excited and happy, but will still be praying this all works out fine.

I'm extremely excited for October. Hopefully I'm going to have some job interviews lined up now that companies may be looking for seasonal work. I'll definitely be posting entries on my Halloween costume for my friend's birthday/costume party. Shh! It's a secret. I'll show you when I'm all finished. Be prepared though. It will be gruesome! {Evil laugh} MUHAHAHA! Seriously, the end of the year is always my favorite time of year. In about two weeks, we get a visit from some of my best friends, Dan & Ally Auch and their two adorable children Lilianna and Rowan. They are stopping by Pennsylvania as a quick stop before they moved back to Idaho for school at BYU. I miss them so so much. Lily's birthday was last month and I have a special handmade gift for my adorable 2 year old goddaughter. However, since Mrs. Alyssa, my darling friend, also follows my blog, that must also remain a secret. Sorry! I'm so excited on how it will turn out, though!

In the meantime, I have been keeping myself busy with scrapbooking, my favorite hobby, and I also have retaught myself how to crochet. I am very proud of myself. It's like playing an instrument you used to play when you were little. It just comes back to you. I forgot how fun it used to be. My friend Kayla Levan and I are always looking for the next thing to craft. Pinterest is a great website to feed that addiction. Seriously, she showed me that website once and I'm hooked. You make boards and pin photos of your favorite things! Brilliant! Will be keeping you all updated on the kitten, and of course, Mom. Thanks for checking in.

XO...♥