tids and bits

I've been away for awhile, but do appreciate all the comments that have been left.  It's been a rather draining year, thus far.  I'm dealing with some murky personal issues and have not wanted to write much because I am afraid that my entries will be laden with whining and/or things that should be left unsaid and unread at this point.  But there are a few things external to that whole mess that I'd like to say.

Some of you may remember that I had a kitten named Stella since October.  Well, in May she didn't show up for her meal time and I thought she might be out in the fields, checking out things.  After she didn't show for a few days, I called my landlords because I thought maybe Stella went to their place to play with her litter mates.  Nope, they've not seen her.  I called the local humane society thinking that maybe someone picked her up if she strayed off the farm.  DeLisa and Glenn had not seen her.  Something happened to her, which may make sense since she was still a kitten and there are some big bad things in these fields and woods.  She was extremely gentle and laid-back with me, so maybe she didn't know how to defend herself.

In the beginning of June, I'd be talking with my guy about how I missed her and also how I missed having a kitty gamboling about.  He had gotten an eMail from one of his fellow grad students because she was wanting to find homes for four kittens that her father's cat had had at the end of April.  The eMail was old and so we weren't sure if any kittens were still available.  Well the gist of it is that over Father's Day weekend, a kitten was transported from Mobile to Oxford and then I picked her up and brought her home to Starkville.

Saffron is a long-haired grey and black kitten with a orange burst on her forehead.  I thought the name would suit and everyone liked it so they began to call her that while she was still in Mobile.  She is extremely gentle with me, and very vocal.  She gets along well with the pups and acclimated quite nicely to the place.  At first, she was both indoors and outdoors, but then I got sort of worried that something along the lines of Stella's fate might happen.  So I purchased kitty litter, litter pan, and scoop and then set everything up for her.  She took to it immediately and things are oder-free so far because I keep up with the disposal of the scoopables.  She wasabsolutely great while I shampooed her and then sprayed her with flea/tick treatment.  I will most likely keep her as an indoors kitty.

I am allergic to cats but have had luck with Stella and so far with Saffron.  The only reactions I've had are if my skin is broken with her nails.  Then, I have a bit of local swelling and itching.  I do take allergy meds for lots of stuff so that's helped.  I'm planning to get her clipped, as that will help even more.  I plan to continue to shampoo her with this gentle nature mix that I found that is good for cats as it doesn't strip out the oils that protect their skin.  If I do develop breathing problems, she gots to go tho.

So that's whats up with the kitty situation.  Hopefully more updates will follow soon!  Have a great week and enjoy the 4th as much as possible, safely.