Life: Idiotropic

This is Alex. She was a stray cat that lives in the gardens at the place that we're staying. From the first day we arrived, the girls have showered her with love, affection, and a name. Arianna is the one that named her. Elise picks her up and carries her all over the place. Alex just goes limp in her arms and tolerates it all. She purrs, she follows us around. She is absolutely wonderful. Within a week the girls were campaigning to keep her. Kirk thought yes. I said no thinking that Misha is old and shouldn't have to deal with another cat. Two days ago I noticed that her belly was getting big and her teats were swollen. Alex is pregnant. I thought yes. We need to make sure these babies have a chance. Kirk said no. But then, he saw Alex laying on "her" chair on the porch. He saw how the girls loved on her. He likes tabbys anyway. Then he fed her all the leftover scampi. That was it. There's no going back now. So, we now have enlarged our family by 4 paws. She'll have her kittens in a couple weeks (I think) which will be a wonderful experience for the girls. Then, when they are old enough, we will find homes or take them to the shelter with the hope for a happy outcome.

Misha is still with us. She's 21 and starting to really show it, but she did wonderfully on the move and I think she likes the small accommodations where she can't get lost and always find someone to snuggle with. Still affectionate, she is slowing down which worries me. Her hips are arthritic to the point that she her hind end falls over once in a while. We want to get her into our house and see how she does there when the stress of this move is over and she's in her permanent home. But we'll see. I'm worried and don't know if she'll make it to Christmas. I don't want her to suffer. So, we're all enjoying these moments. The littles argue over who gets to sleep with her and Tiara enjoys her quiet presence while she chats with friends on MSN. How she'll deal with Alex? I think she'll be ok. She's dealt with a lot of critters in her life and wold rather curl up on a bed than battle with another cat.

On Saturday our house will expand again, by another 4 paws, this time canine. We saw a puppy last Saturday that was adorable, but the situation was odd. We thought we were going to go see a little of puppies and had read about how to pick one. We were prepared to see the mother, watch the puppies play, then hold and play with our favorites. We arrived, were led inside the gate, then Esther went inside her home and brought out one darling white golden puppy and set her on the table. We didn't see the little, the mother, or where she slept. No choices. Just, here's the puppy. We all liked her ok, but didn't feel bonded with her. We wanted choices. So, this Saturday I'm driving to Barcelona (3.5 hours away) to see a breeder who has 3 puppies left for us to see and choose from. She's very nice, understands well what we want to do, and also guarantees the health of the puppy which the other breeder doesn't do. So, I think we'll come home with a puppy - a dog that Tiara's been wanting for years. At the top of her birthday and Christmas lists for, oh, probably the last 8 years or more.