Four Cats And Me

Spazz - I had just made the decision to leave my job and pursue other avenues. I was burned out. After almost 12 years of being a dispatcher, I was done. Every time 911 would ring, I would just cringe. This was mid 2001. I remember thinking of Spazz as my going away present. One of the officers came in through the front door and held it open and this meowing little thing with huge ears came in with him. The officer said, "Here you go. I found something for you." I picked him up and held him the rest of that night and took him home with me. I carried him in a basket to work with me several nights after that. He never tried to crawl out of it. Our city had a fair not long after I got Spazz. I loaded him up in his basket and we walked the fair together. People oooed and aaaahed over him. You know... the whole kitten in a basket held tilt thing. I have kitten pictures of Spazz, but they are not digital and I really don't feel like dismantling my photo album to TRY and scan these tiny photos. Look at these full grown pictures of him and imagine him 1/4 the size he is now, with the same sized ears.
Jynxy - I'm at my new job. I've made a few friends while I'm there. One of the girls I worked with, her husband was in pharmacist school down in Houston and she told me of this calico cat that hung out at her husband's house where he was staying while he was down there. She told me the kitty was pregnant and she talked about me getting one of the kittens. I laughed it off not really thinking seriously about it. I was co-habitating with my boyfriend by this time and we already had Spazz and his evil, nasty feline. The kittens came and of course I weakened at the thought of a kitten in the house and I agreed to take one. About a month or so after Jynx came home, my boyfriend and his evil, nasty feline both left. Jynxy had this certain way that he would lay with me at night. I would lie on my right side with my right arm extended out and he would crawl into the crook of my arm, put his arms over my shoulder and I would wrap the rest of my arm around him... like you might hold a teddy bear. During my darkest days and the dreadfully quiet nights that followed the sudden departure of, what I thought of at the time, my entire world, he would comfort me. He always seemed to know when I needed it the most. He still sleeps there ever so often. He stills seems to know.Jynxy's favorite toy when he was younger was a rabbit's foot. He eventually tore that thing to shreds.Spazz and Jynx used to best friends. But Spazz is best friends will ALL the kittens I have brought home over the years.Ex-boyfriend's Evil Feline
Libertine - The new job didn't work out and eventually I came back to work at my old job. It was like coming home. My second day back, our Animal Control person came in with this kitten that she was bottle feeding. This very tiny, very colorful fluffball. I don't think I have ever seen anything as cute since. It was love at first sight with me. Libby came home with me that day. She became my homecoming present. She was only about two weeks old. Her eyes had just started to open. She took to the bottle well and she is still the sweetest thing, yet very mischievous.This is how small she was compared to Spazz. I was terrified of squishing her.

Cricket - Cricket came about a year after Libby. Someone had brought up this kitten to my work because they thought a car had hit it in a parking lot. The person that saw this happen was the one that brought it to the station. I was not working at the time. The dispatcher that was working had called the Animal Control person and the Animal Control person asked that dispatcher if I was coming in and she told her that I was indeed coming in that night... so the Animal Control person (knowing FULL WELL how weak I am around kittens) decided not to show up... and then I came in... and it should be obvious by now what happened. Cricket might have been about 3 weeks old. She would not take to a bottle at all, but she was able to eat a little canned food after some practice. She had NOT been hit by the car.
I can't have any more kitties in my family. I find my time with each of them is stretched to the limit and another one would take away from the others and I don't see that as fair to any of us. On rare occasions we have some jealousy issues. Usually just with the boys, though. Libby and Cricket play together all the time. Libby tends to pick on Jynxy. I'm not really sure why. I think she just likes to see him run, but sometimes she gets kind of mean. On most days, though, we all get along just fine.

I talk to my cats. Often.