Hurricanes and kitties and mosquitoes, oh my!
We finally have the first named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season with TS Alex, who is sitting off the coast of Belize at the moment. All of the current computer model runs agree in showing it headed out into the gulf along the Mexican coast and then turning westward toward Brownsville (at the Texas/Mexico border). So there should be little impact on the oil spill... but it's still almost a week out, so anything can happen. The fact that we have our first storm before June is even out suggests that forecasters are correct in saying that this will be a much busier season than last year or the year before.
So, y'all remember when I was talking about the kitties that live up at Mom's clinic and how the horrible people in administration had decided the cats needed to disappear because they "are disease carriers!" Which is total bullshit as the pigeons, squirrels, mice, raccoons, and possums are much more likely to be rabid or have other communicable diseases. Mom was able to trap the two girls - sisters about a year old - and bring them home. Supposedly all of the kittens have been caught and adopted, and the toms that got the girls pregnant in the first place are neighborhood cats owned by people who live nearby. So now we have two new furry members of our family. I'll take pictures at some point soon. They're so sweet and pretty. We caught Elise first. Her fancy name is Furr Elise (because we're musical... we have a Cole Porter and had a Claude Debussy Cat, so this isn't a stretch for us). We call her Leesie as a nickname. She's definitely mostly long-haired siamese, because she's cream with dark tail and ears, and those startling blue eyes. We had her alone here for a day and she was so depressed by herself... she barely ate or drank and it was just heartwrenching. Yesterday, Mom brought Bandit home. She's a black-and-white longhair, with the most symmetrical face I've ever seen on a cat... she looks like she's wearing a mask - thus Bandit. She's the more outgoing and fearless of the two. When we put the girls back together, Elise wouldn't give Bandit any space to do stuff like eat or drink for all of her loving and nuzzling. Leese actually was dancing for joy. They are living out in a large dog kennel on the patio so they can get used to us, not run away, but not yet have any physical contact with our cats until we get them checked out for potential diseases. As much as I was really not okay with the idea at the beginning of this process, I now can't imagine giving them up. They would have to be adopted together, because Elise just couldn't live without Bandit (though I think Bandit would be able to deal on her own just fine). What can I say? I'm a sucker for a furry face.
I've been visiting them outside... hanging out with them just getting them used to my voice, presence, and smell. However, this was exactly what the mosquitoes were waiting for. I can't ever remember being this bitten up. Both ankles are covered in INCREDIBLY ITCHY (OH GOD PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY) bites. The rest of my legs also took a beating. From the waist down, I'm half mosquito bites. I have tried EVERY REMEDY KNOWN TO MAN to try and stop the itching - cortisone, feminine area itch cream (what? it has benzocaine in it), nail polish to occlude the bites (which kind of worked), salt rub, baking soda rub, lemons, calamine lotion, benadryl tabs (at the highest dose)... It's making me completely mental... well, mental-er than normal. I can't sleep well unless I medicate myself like crazy, because the itch is enough of an irritant that my body stays just a smidge awake. I woke up after a nap to find all of my covers tossed everywhere but on my bed due to all of my twisting and turning to scratch my itches in my sleep. Also why I'm awake at 9:30am on a Saturday. I'm going to have to wait until Monday to go and see someone at the clinic and get something heavier-duty to help heal this crazy rash.
If y'all have any other itchy bug bite remedies I haven't listed here but that you find works well, let me know. I'm willing to try anything at this point.
Okay. I'm going to try and relax. Yeah, right.
So, y'all remember when I was talking about the kitties that live up at Mom's clinic and how the horrible people in administration had decided the cats needed to disappear because they "are disease carriers!" Which is total bullshit as the pigeons, squirrels, mice, raccoons, and possums are much more likely to be rabid or have other communicable diseases. Mom was able to trap the two girls - sisters about a year old - and bring them home. Supposedly all of the kittens have been caught and adopted, and the toms that got the girls pregnant in the first place are neighborhood cats owned by people who live nearby. So now we have two new furry members of our family. I'll take pictures at some point soon. They're so sweet and pretty. We caught Elise first. Her fancy name is Furr Elise (because we're musical... we have a Cole Porter and had a Claude Debussy Cat, so this isn't a stretch for us). We call her Leesie as a nickname. She's definitely mostly long-haired siamese, because she's cream with dark tail and ears, and those startling blue eyes. We had her alone here for a day and she was so depressed by herself... she barely ate or drank and it was just heartwrenching. Yesterday, Mom brought Bandit home. She's a black-and-white longhair, with the most symmetrical face I've ever seen on a cat... she looks like she's wearing a mask - thus Bandit. She's the more outgoing and fearless of the two. When we put the girls back together, Elise wouldn't give Bandit any space to do stuff like eat or drink for all of her loving and nuzzling. Leese actually was dancing for joy. They are living out in a large dog kennel on the patio so they can get used to us, not run away, but not yet have any physical contact with our cats until we get them checked out for potential diseases. As much as I was really not okay with the idea at the beginning of this process, I now can't imagine giving them up. They would have to be adopted together, because Elise just couldn't live without Bandit (though I think Bandit would be able to deal on her own just fine). What can I say? I'm a sucker for a furry face.
I've been visiting them outside... hanging out with them just getting them used to my voice, presence, and smell. However, this was exactly what the mosquitoes were waiting for. I can't ever remember being this bitten up. Both ankles are covered in INCREDIBLY ITCHY (OH GOD PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY) bites. The rest of my legs also took a beating. From the waist down, I'm half mosquito bites. I have tried EVERY REMEDY KNOWN TO MAN to try and stop the itching - cortisone, feminine area itch cream (what? it has benzocaine in it), nail polish to occlude the bites (which kind of worked), salt rub, baking soda rub, lemons, calamine lotion, benadryl tabs (at the highest dose)... It's making me completely mental... well, mental-er than normal. I can't sleep well unless I medicate myself like crazy, because the itch is enough of an irritant that my body stays just a smidge awake. I woke up after a nap to find all of my covers tossed everywhere but on my bed due to all of my twisting and turning to scratch my itches in my sleep. Also why I'm awake at 9:30am on a Saturday. I'm going to have to wait until Monday to go and see someone at the clinic and get something heavier-duty to help heal this crazy rash.
If y'all have any other itchy bug bite remedies I haven't listed here but that you find works well, let me know. I'm willing to try anything at this point.
Okay. I'm going to try and relax. Yeah, right.