My Fur Babies!!!!

I have always been a pet lover. Growing up we always had cats and occasionally dogs. As kids we were taught that dogs belong outside so truthfully, back then, I wasn't the best dog owner but I wasn't alone in that. I had five siblings and we all felt that way. Cats, however, were usually indoor/outdoor creatures. They got loved and kissed and spoiled. At the moment I have 2 cats and a dog. My roommate, who also happens to be one of my sisters, has a cat and a dog. I moved in with her ten years ago and at that time I had 2 six month old kittens and one 8 year old very fat cat. The eight year old cat was a rescue. Her name was Angel Kitty. She wasn't very healthy but for the last 5 years of her life she was at least very spoiled.

The other two cats that moved in here with me ten years ago were 6 month old litter-mates. I had been watching a friends cat while she was in the hospital. One afternoon I told her that i was pretty sure her cat was pregnant. She said there was no way because the cat had never been outside. I told her that if the cat hadn't been outside than some other cat had come inside. She'd been in the hospital for 5 weeks when Sassy went into labor. It was the first time i played midwife to a cat. She was on my bed and i managed to get a towel under her and spent the next four hours messaging her belly. Suddenly she jumped up and ran under the dresser. A few minutes later the first kitten was born. She had four in total. I gave two of them away as soon as thy were weaned. I planned to give a third one away as well but my sister (the one I now live with) came to visit and was so enamored of the way the two kittens played together she offered to pay the vet fees for one of them if I would keep them both. So I did. They are ten years old now and of course just as spoiled as Angel Kitty was.

This is L'il Bit. He is the defender of our cul-de-sac. The neighbors send me photos of him chasing mice or cornering noisy birds. It makes me proud.

This is Lily. She is named after the lead character in my novel The Sapphire Legacy. She was the third kitten I was going to give away and I've always thought she knows that. She is beautiful and has the sweetest little meow but she is a BULLY. She will attack any of the other animals without any provocation. I used to think that it was only male animals that would pee inside to mark the house. I was so wrong. Lily pee'd all over this house before I figured out how to stop her. The key to stopping her is that I basically keep her in my living area all the time. All the time. Well, we have an extra bedroom, it's become a storage room and she likes to spend time in there as well. If she insists on going outside I escort her to the door and let her out then wait for her to come back in and take her back to my area. It's bothersome but she is my baby and I will do what I have to do for her.

My third baby is a beautiful Sheltie named Brody. He is also a rescue. He's been with me for three years now. He is also ten years old. He was born just a month after Lily and L'il Bit. He belonged to my friend Christine and she is still one of his "mammas." Shelties are unhappy when left alone. Three years ago his companion dog passed away. Christine is a school teacher and was gone every day, all day. Brody was miserable so she decided to let him come and live with me. I am totally besotted with him. My Tik Tok channel is all about him. I take him for walks and we have gotten to know almost all of the neighbors in and around our street. He is sweet and gentle and loves to sit beside me while I write.