Kittle-Cat

I'm kinda upset tonite. Our kitty, Skittles, is under the weather... Well, I shouldn't say our kitty, he's really Ean's cat. Ean has always been a cat-lover! When he was 3, he wore me down and I caved (after seeing a mouse in our basement) and agreed to let him have a kitty. In a conversation with my cousin Tonya, I mentioned this. Tonya is the one to talk to about getting pets! She's helped me find not only Skittles but:

Kota--Mr. Peyton and my 1st dog together. He was a cinnamon colored pure-bred Chow Chow. He was the cutest puppy we've ever owned! He was definitely a 1 man dog and despite our best efforts to socialize him, he stayed true to the typical Chow personality. He was a sweetheart though and a big chicken! lol--scared to death of thunderstorms! He died less than a week after we had Evan, at 13 years old.

Tucker--MY BABY! My 1st baby! Ahhhh, Tucky D! He was my 1st Peke, and the apple of my eye! Tonya even helped me with his AKC registration, naming him Peyton's Tucker Boy. I will be forever thankful to Tonya for leading me his way, as he greatly enriched and blessed our lives for 13 years. (13 seems to be our UNLUCKY number)

I have to also give Tonya the props for Atticus too... Mr. Peyton and I wanted a Lab for years. Tonya had 2 prior to her Chocolate, Mocha, whom I absolutely fell in love with, thru pictures Tonya shared with me of her as a puppy. This and Dietz (one of my client's black Labs who was the sweetest goofball I'd ever met) pushed me over the edge and we made the plunge for Atti Christmas Eve about 5 years ago. Atticus is truly an amazing, wonderful dog. And the most beautiful chocolate Lab in the whole world! His personality (and eyes) will turn even the biggest animal-hater into a pile of mush! Thankfully, he's still with us, I don't even wanna think about the 13 year mark...

But back to Skittles... Tonya called me a couple of days after our conversation saying to me that she knew a guy that had some Himalayan-mixed kittens, that (quote) "I use for target practice, if the dogs don't get 'em". Yeah, nice huh... I often picture a toothless hillbilly in ratty bib overalls sitting on his porch, spitting Red-Man thru pickets shooting his sawed-off shotgun at defenseless kittens. Now that's a real man... ugh!!!!!!! So, needless to say, Tonya goes and gets all the kittens! I told her to save the cutest for us! One friday nite, after Mr. P gets off from work, with an over the top excited Ean in tow, we head across Afton mountain to Staunton to pick up this kitten.

I'll admit, when I get there, I was kinda disappointed. Tonya had told me that this kitten looked like Gizmo from The Gremlins. She said that he had a lot of Persian and/or Himalayan in him. I didn't see any of it... I know, I know, that's not important, but I was not a cat person at all at this time. I was getting this cat strictly for Ean (uh, and the mouse problem too, I won't lie). The least that could come from my graciousness, could be a pretty kitten. This kitten was skinny and not really cute at all. He did have blue eyes, that were crazed looking, but kinda pretty, but I figured he'd outgrow them. And as if his looks weren't bad enough, he was a SPAZ! Gosh, I don't even know if spaz covers it. Tonya had to run around the porch a few times to finally catch him, then he hissed and spit at her, while she informed us that he'd bitten her quite a few times in the couple of days since she'd rescued him. Nice...I thought. But, Ean was gone--hook, line and sinker! He couldn't have cared less that this mangy little thing was hissing and it's fur was sticking porcupine like all over it's body! All he knew was that this was a kitty, his own pet, that he'd been pining for, for a long time! (Especially to a 3 year old) So, into our mini-van we climb, yowling kitten and all and over the mountain we trek back to Orange.

Immediately, as soon as the drive home that nite, I could tell Skittles wasn't fond of me. Heck, who am I kidding, Skittles pretty much hated me. Still to this day, I'm his absolute least fave here. Anyway, the next day Skittles (who coined his name from Ean's fave candy at the time), hid and scampered all day. He ended up hiding underneath our hutch in the dining room and it took us a couple of hours to find him, then get him out. I must say, I was regretting my push-overness. But, Ean in all his youthful glory, was one proud cat owner! About a week after getting Skittles, we went to the beach for a week. He was alone, in his new home. Something miraculous happened this week--he decided we weren't that bad. Well, I guess Ean, Mr. Peyton and Tucker weren't that bad, he still hated me. We came home to a cat transformed. I was truly expecting to come home to a cat--4 feet up, but he greeted us with meows and rubs. Almost scaring me, I was expecting this demon cat to be fooling us into some sort of surprise death trap, but from our first day back from vacation after having him about 2 weeks, he was King of the House! He tolerated Ean and all his over-loving and began a tremendous keen-ness for Mr. Peyton! He still, to this day loves Daddy! And then came Evan, I remember the day we brought Evan home, Tucker and Skittles peering over into his Moses basket and us chuckling and snapping pics. Skittles, in his typical aloof way, didn't pay much attention to Evan at all, until about the past 2 years. Skittles prefers to sleep with Evy. If Evy's spending the nite at Gramma's, Skittles will meow in the hall, waiting for his bed-buddy. If it's time to go to sleep, and Evy's not already in the bed, Skittles will meow, "It's time, brother", and he's content, once they are both snug in Evy's bed. It's uncanny how he likes Evy, and typical that he still dislikes me! I tell him that I know he doesn't like me, but I like him anyway. I like him because he's turned into this beautiful lion of a cat! He's got long grey hair and he's kept those magnificent blue eyes! I like him because he's a "mean kitty" as I always call him. He's got a personality unlike any pet I've had. He's mean and bossy, making sure all the dogs (even Atti, who out weighs him by at least 110 pounds) know he's the King of this domain. He's funny, loving banana peels and soft dog treats. He's sweet, in still tolerating Ean's "over loving" and his loyal-ness to his master (Ean). I love him because he's made Ean very happy. I love him because he loves us. Yeah, I think he loves me, he may not like me, but he loves me...I think...

Kittle Cat has been sniffing and sneezing for a couple of weeks. He's been shaking his head, as if he's got mites. I got some OTC drops for his (and Atti's) ears and we put those in a couple of nites ago--to HIS dismay, I may LOUDLY add. Well, he's been pretty lethargic for the past 2 days. I didn't think a whole lot of it, until this evening when I noticed I hadn't really seen him all day. Ean found him sleeping outside by the front porch and brought him onto the carport where I was reading. I could almost tell, just by his fur, that he wasn't up to par. Skittles is very particular about his appearance, and has always, always kept himself in pristine condition--well, he was looking a little scruffy. Then when Ean turned him around to face me as I cooed at him, I saw his eye. It looks almost like he's blind out of it. It's swollen underneath. I don't know if he's gotten into a fight with the neighborhood alley cats or if God forbid, he's gotten hit by something. Anyway, I'm worried, as is Ean. I will call the vet, first thing in the morning and hopefully get him in, ASAP!

Please pray that "ole mean kitty" will be ok!

God is Love--Peace Out