A day in the life of a foster home for shelter cats is quite possibly the most humorous experience I’ve ever had. With a current count of nine cats, ranging in age from a four month old kitten to an eight year old geriatric, the fun never seems to stop.
In the morning the cats will let their foster mom know its breakfast time. There’s no need for an alarm clock in this house. The cats sit around my bed and howl until I wake.
“Mreeow. Mreeow!” they call until I roll out of bed and measure out their food. For five minutes I have to fight with the youngest kitten, forcing her away from the bowls of everyone else and back to her own. The other eight occasionally have to be nudged back to their own bowl but they’ve begun to understand. After fifteen minutes, breakfast is over, and uneaten portions are put back in storage to be used in the evening.
Cat chores go about as normal, with furry beasts always underfoot, trying to trip me or just be annoying. Ten cat boxes are scooped and given fresh litter well the four youngest hairballs bring me their toys to throw for games. Bells inside their favorite balls jingle as they tear down the hall from the cat room, feet thumping against the wood floor in chase and then back for another toss. When they tire of the toys, they all find a place to sleep, curling up on one of the beds, on shelves, or hidden in one of the boxes scattered through the house for their enjoyment. The youngest kitten chooses my chest to sleep, her rumbling purrs vibrating through me. Her favorite playmate is by my side, her long gray fur soft around my fingers. Her purr is softer, only noticeable by touching her chest. I barely move until they wake, not wanting to disturb the serene grace of their sleeping forms.
When the cats wake, play resumes, although less boisterous. They now bat at old shoelaces hanging from doorknobs or scratch at their cat tree. Their claws tear at the carpeted structure, tearing at the fiber. I have to pick bits of carpet from between their claws when they finish. They each stop by bowls of water for a drink, batting at one another if someone else tries to get their head in the same bowl.
When it’s time for dinner, they anxiously gather around my ankles. I make the family dinner first and this night I was making tuna casserole. The cats all know what it means when they hear the can opening. Three of them begin to cry, their loud meows echoing in the kitchen. I drain the water from the tuna into a bowl and set it on the floor for them to fight over. Everyone eventually gets some and they scatter until I call them for their own cat food dinner, another fifteen minutes of trying to teach the new kitten to stay away from the other bowls and watching the others to make sure they remember to keep to their own.
At night, as the family prepares for bed, the cats begin to divide themselves again to their sleeping spots or their night games. The oldest have their own beds and happily go to sleep in them, conserving their energy for another day. The youngest cats continue to romp late into the night, their thundering runs through the house keeping me awake. The rest jump into my bed and form a giant fur pile at the foot, grooming each other before they settle into sleep. When the kittens settle down, they jump on to the bed, scattering the others who find chairs and boxes to sleep in around the room instead. I fall asleep surrounding by furry pests and with cat hair in my nose but happy to have had another fulfilling day with my hairy friends.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Reflection Rough Draft
I've always been a little odd for a girl. At least, that's what the other girls said. So I guess it comes as no surprise that I preferred the company of snakes, rats, and mice over cats and dogs. At least, I did, before two bedraggled kittens stumbled into my life.
It was a cold fall that year. I was three months pregnant and looking for a dog to keep me active. Unfortunately, every time I found one, it was already adopted or I was outside of the borders the shelter adopted to. I was still living with my parents at the time, my soon-to-be husband living with his and working at McDonald's part time. He always stopped by after work to talk so I was a little surprised when he called me partway through his shift.
"Guess what I have," he said. His voice betrayed no hint of anything special so I wasn't sure what to expect.
"What do you have?" I asked, petting my rat who was perched half asleep on my shoulder.
"I have a kitten."
"Umm... Okay." I couldn't figure out why he'd call to tell me about a kitten. His family had several cats. Of course one would be sitting in his lap.
"The neighbor found it. Someone dumped two in his yard." That got me. My heart has always gone out to abandoned animals (which is why even my rats had been shelter adoptees).
"Aww. Can I see them later?"
"Yeah, I'll pick you up after work and you can see the kittens."
True to his word, when his shift ended he came over to pick me up and we went over to his house where two scared, shivering lumps of gray fur were curled up on the couch hissing at the dogs. When I came in, both dogs left the room, the two of them knowing I didn't like them about as much as they disliked me. Cooing over the little kittens I picked one up. It had the most distinctive mark on its face. A little white stripe that went right over its eye. I could feel myself falling for the pathetic little beast but I know I could hold back. At least, until one of the dogs came back over and it starting shivering in fear. I hid the kitten inside my coat to help it feel safe and it almost immediately fell asleep. Watching its feisty littermate with white raccoon mask face fend off the other dog in my husband's lap I couldn't help myself.
"Can we keep them?"
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monster in a Ryokan - Analyzing and Connecting
1. It gives the impression that the monsters, in their homeland, can easily avoid causing problems but when thrust into an environment they have not been in before, they become clumsy and unaware, often doing things they should not.
2. Yes, her comparisons are fitting for the story. They work well to describe the huge differences between American and Japanese cultures and why an American would be so terribly out of place.
3. She presents herself as a bumbling clumsy, unaware oaf. A "monster" in the Japanese world. The descriptions of tripping and stumbling and inability to really communicate draw the reader in.
4. It allows us to see that everyone makes mistakes, especially in new places that even we might go so we can learn, grow, and understand.
Summary.
Mary Roach visits japan and stays in a traditional hotel known as a Ryokan. Upon her arrival she is dropped off in the wrong place by the cab and has to try to find her way to the hotel in the rain, trying to communicate with others to get her bearings. When she finally finds the hotel, she walks in and right off does things which Americans do not think anything about that upsets the hotel staff. Throughout her entire first days stay, she continues making such mistakes, until she makes what she thinks is the greatest travesty of all and realizes things can't get any worse before she goes to sleep.
2. Yes, her comparisons are fitting for the story. They work well to describe the huge differences between American and Japanese cultures and why an American would be so terribly out of place.
3. She presents herself as a bumbling clumsy, unaware oaf. A "monster" in the Japanese world. The descriptions of tripping and stumbling and inability to really communicate draw the reader in.
4. It allows us to see that everyone makes mistakes, especially in new places that even we might go so we can learn, grow, and understand.
Summary.
Mary Roach visits japan and stays in a traditional hotel known as a Ryokan. Upon her arrival she is dropped off in the wrong place by the cab and has to try to find her way to the hotel in the rain, trying to communicate with others to get her bearings. When she finally finds the hotel, she walks in and right off does things which Americans do not think anything about that upsets the hotel staff. Throughout her entire first days stay, she continues making such mistakes, until she makes what she thinks is the greatest travesty of all and realizes things can't get any worse before she goes to sleep.
Let It Snow - Analyzing and Connecting
1. When the school closes because of the snow, the children are more exposed to their mother and her problems.
2. Looking back on it, it seems the narrator finds the concept to be amusing but at the time had thought it to be the most brilliant solution ever to be thought.
3. Written without humor would likely result in the reader becoming angry and unforgiving towards the mother and even annoyed with the siblings for being willing to sacrifice their sister for themselves, loosing the effect of a family overcoming their problems.
4. A similar situation was likely to arise but for the time being the family was in harmony again.
Summary
The children at one time lived in New York were there was always snow but then moved to North Carolina where the snow rarely stayed. When it does they are stuck in the house with their mother who becomes stressed and kicks them out of the house for a day. The children try to make the best of the situation by going to play with friends but when they return home find themselves still locked out with the mother ignoring them. As it gets colder outside, they try to think of a solution, finally settling on having the youngest sister lay in the street to be hit by a car. A neighbor catches them and tells the mother who comes to find them and takes them back home.
2. Looking back on it, it seems the narrator finds the concept to be amusing but at the time had thought it to be the most brilliant solution ever to be thought.
3. Written without humor would likely result in the reader becoming angry and unforgiving towards the mother and even annoyed with the siblings for being willing to sacrifice their sister for themselves, loosing the effect of a family overcoming their problems.
4. A similar situation was likely to arise but for the time being the family was in harmony again.
Summary
The children at one time lived in New York were there was always snow but then moved to North Carolina where the snow rarely stayed. When it does they are stuck in the house with their mother who becomes stressed and kicks them out of the house for a day. The children try to make the best of the situation by going to play with friends but when they return home find themselves still locked out with the mother ignoring them. As it gets colder outside, they try to think of a solution, finally settling on having the youngest sister lay in the street to be hit by a car. A neighbor catches them and tells the mother who comes to find them and takes them back home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)