The New Cat

Today's post features a guest writer, my sister M.  "D" is her husband and "B" is her one-year-old son.  Enjoy!

D has been begging me for a cat since we got married 5 1/2 years ago.  I have basically said no every time he asks for a different reason... we live in an apartment, I'm allergic, we have a dog, we have a baby, we have a 1 year old and a dog, etc.  He brings it up every few months.

Well, yesterday he called me at work.  "Hey honey.... Ummm... Well... I sorta.... well... er..."  (I'm imagining that he wrecked the car or lost our son or something)  "I found a cat and I brought it home."

So the story goes like this...
He goes to drop B off at daycare and there is a lonely, pitiful cat in the parking lot.  It looks abandoned.  It was running under the cars, etc.  So, D goes in and leaves B.  When he comes out the cat is still there.  So all the mom's are like "oooooh you should take it home.... it's probably been abandoned".  According to D it was a match made in heaven and the cat came right to him.  D says, "Ok, get in the car" and opens the door.  Cat jumps in and off they go.  By the way... they're in MY CAR.

I tell him, "well you better take it to the vet.  It might have fleas or something."  Not only does it have fleas, but it has ear mites.  $250 later we have shots, flea treatment, ear mite treatment, a cage, litter box, food, and a little house.

I come home to find this cat in the basement living like Snoop dog.  Heater, blanket, it's own lamp, bed, a flat screen, a bumper sticker that says "I love cats" with paws on it.  You get the picture.

Now we both start itching and are a bit paranoid.  D woke me up at 3am to ask if cat lice could be transmitted to humans.  I told him to go back to bed.  (I started itching, but didn't want to encourage delusions of parasitosis).

Ok, to today I go downstairs to get on the treadmill at 5:30.  The cat dumped over the litter box, puked in the cage, and "went" everywhere except in the litter.  It's hiding under the little yellow house.

I go about my business, get on the treadmill and text D.  "Your cat needs you."  It meows loudly the entire mile I ran, almost making me fall off the treadmill.  MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!

Eventually, D came down and cleaned everything up.

I went to work and got a text this afternoon.  "The cat had a miscarriage".

WHAT?

D took a sample of cat poop to the vet to get tested.  She has a tapeworm.  Big surprise by now.  So he goes back home to get the cat to take back to the vet to get treated for this worm infestation and finds a fetus in the cage.

Loads up the cat and fetus... back to the vet.  The baby is 6 weeks old and didn't survive.  There will probably be more.  So far... 1 more, also didn't make it.

So in case you lost track...  in 24 hours that is...
Fleas
Ear mites
Tapeworm
Miscarriage x 2 (as I recall the average litter is 4-6, with up to 18 or so possible)
Destroyed cage, litter box, cat house, and numerous towels.

D wants to know if he can just put the towels in the washer on HOT.  Ummm.... no.  Not in my washer.  Throw those away.

Sigh.

Anybody want a cat?