All in the Family

It is hard to believe that Catty NKA Snickers has been a member of the family since late 2009. I really can't imagine not having her as part of the family.

She really has grown on me. I can also say that my cat allergy or my allergy to her, has waned significantly. Either the near daily exposure to her for 3 years or perhaps me finally getting my health issues in check, has meant less trauma to my immune system and has lead to a significant change in household protocol.

Snickers comes in now.

In the early months with us, she never tried and we never offered. This continued until last fall. In part the reason we kept her out was my allergies and my mother's allergies. If mom was to come spend her last days here, there could be no indoor cat action.

Over the winter, mild as it was, Snickers seemed to want in more and more. To sleep. She just wants to curl up, with all of us around and sleep.

The other day, I swear she was passed out on a dinning room chair like a frat brother after a weekend long kegger. I clocked the sleep time at roughly 5 hours.

I really do want to keep her off the soft furniture and out of the newly remodeled family room. I also think the basement and the first floor are domain enough for her, no being on the second floor. So far she has gravitated to the morning room and the dinning room. She seems to like the big windows and the sun light. She loves to jump up on a dinning room chair and hide under the table or be in the corner. In the morning room, she favors a corner, under the plant stand, near the register.

This is not at all to say that she isn't testing those boundaries. This past weekend she hid in both of the children's closets on two separate occasions. When she burst out of E's closet, she scared me to death.

I think once we put the patio furniture on the deck, she may stay out there more, as she can hide on a chair under the table, which seems to suit her just fine. Last week our neighbor and L's BFF took care of the food and water patrol and predictably Snickers got huffy and ran off, as we were not home. I suspect she would have returned on her own, but the storm Friday might well have gotten her in a state of affairs. She also is minus a bit of fur and her collar.

On Saturday, I dispatched L and her BFF and H to a house up the road a bit. For whatever reason, after storms, she hangs on this family's deck. It is possible, that that house used to be her home or she just goes there when she has lost her way. I theorize that perhaps she did live there, because that house changed hands at about the same time we acquired Snickers. Maybe they didn't want her making the move or perhaps she ran off and they never found her. Either way she favors this house. H carried her home and other than some loud meows and haughty stares, she allowed the in arms transport. Happy to be home, but reminded H not to make a habit of this transport method, thank you very much.

 

Snickers is one of the most social, pack minded cats I have ever known. When we are outside, she is right there with us. She often "stands guard." I will joke that she is our vicious attack cat. I am only half kidding. I think if she thought someone was threatening us, especially the children, she would do her worst to protect us.

This was St. Patrick's Day. I was watching the kids ride their bikes, while waiting on my BFF to come over for dinner. Snickers was one part protecting me and keeping a close eye on her small charges.

Look at that determined face. I wouldn't cross her in a dark alley.