Anyway, one night last week Swirly the Guard Cat was sitting in the window sill of my author cave hissing. The window is on the front of the house with a view of the carport. It was open a little (not enough for one of them to squeeze out) and he saw/heard something outside. He’s a pretty good alarm. Anything, anyone comes into our carport and Swirly hisses. The closer they get to the window, the louder he gets until eventually he starts growling. He stopped hissing pretty quick though because the person in the carport was Rott.

Rott comes up to the window and the babies all crowd around as he starts to tell me why he’s wandering around outside at 1:30 am. He’d found a couple of coyotes in our yard stalking a baby possum. Or in Rott’s words, “Coyote Take Out.” He chased them off but they didn’t go any farther than our carport because of the presence of their snack to go. So Rott shooed them out of the carport into the street. While he was telling me about the baby possum and that he saw the rest of the coyote pack up the street, the coyote take out took a hike and made good his escape. With the possum gone, the next time Rott shooed the approaching coyotes, they left and joined the pack, running up the street and around the corner.

After that, Rott and I went to Denny’s for an early morning breakfast. The coyotes stalking the baby possum in our yard was pretty much the highlight of our week. Rott now tells the babies if they aren’t good, he’s going to put them outside to be coyote take out!

Work is going to be pretty crazy for me starting this week because my co-worker is leaving. I’ve no idea how I’m going to get all the work done and I’m seriously unhappy about this turn of events. So I’m hoping to get a bit of a jump on month end over the next couple of days before she leaves. After that, I don’t even want to think about how tired I’m going to be.

Between coyotes in my yard and my co-worker leaving, I need some serious cheering up which of course means I need a Marcus.

Oh, yum. He really does make my Mondays much better! Hope you all have a wonderful day!

He did okay in the carrier for a few days and then Rott let him out. After that he hid under the futon for weeks. We’re pretty sure he came out once in awhile  to run into the bathroom for food, water and the box. Mopping up after him was a chore because he’d pee and puke from not eating or drinking for days then gorging himself in the night.

In the last ten days Tux has gotten much better. He’s starting to come out regularly. He goes into the bathroom from under the futon (which is near the bathroom door in a corner of the bedroom) all the time. He has no problems with the bathroom although the skylight messed with him in the beginning for probably a week.  In the last week, he’s been coming out to crumb bum when I’m eating and last night he was playing with his brothers. And when Rott came in last night he stood his ground and went to Rott for petting. Just like a normal non-freaked out cat. Rott laughed that it’s only been 3 months that he’s been hiding while his brothers were all okay within a week.

You might wonder what had poor Tux so freaked out. Well, meet his nemesis.

Yep. The ceiling fan. He was completely freaked by it. His brothers all looked at him like he was insane and I’m pretty sure he was for those three weeks. I’m still not convinced he’s a bit on the crazy side. I mean, c’mon. He hid inside a recliner for a month and wouldn’t come out. He’s lucky he isn’t dead.

But he’s out now and doing much better so hopefully, he gets his manners back or relearns them because he’s conveniently forgotten how to use the box every time he needs to go. I know he uses it sometimes but I’m not sure why he doesn’t use it ALL the time. He’s grossing me out and making me angry so his manners need some serious work at the moment. But, as Rott says, at least he didn’t die in that chair.

It’s a busy Monday ahead for me so now that I’ve told you about Tux’s acclimatization, it’s time for a Marcus.

I know he may not spin everyone’s wheels but he sure spins mine. Yum. Yum.

Hey, if you’re local to me, check out the OC Register for an ad from my work about a photo contest we’re having. You could win a $250 Amex card. That’s a lotta moolah! Hope you all have a great Monday!

So all of that frenzy was pretty much for naught and makes me wonder if those people just said those things thinking the great Neilhimself would notice them. I’m still left with my life falling apart and pain in indescribable places and the babies still need homes. Oh, they are fixed and have had shots now though.

Nicki’s cat Neko will not be coming home from the foster care home because the vet discovered she has a heart condition that will require expensive medication and treatment. I can’t afford that. I don’t even have a car that works at the moment and I have DH who is looking for a way to not live with or be with me anymore.

I have an ad on Craigslist in the hope that the smallest of the babies will all find homes. I’m afraid to give them all up because then the DH will still leave and I will have nothing. Having nothing to look forward to is a very desolate feeling. I’m pathetic enough to wish to work things out with him. When he says he cannot live like this and he’s going to leave because of it, I just want to throw up and pains begin in various parts of my body. I’ve swallowed some Tylenols so hopefully the physical pains will dull soon.

As for my heart… I think it’s done. Three times I let a man have it and two times it’s been tossed back. Third time doesn’t look like it’s a charm. I really think he’s just gonna stomp all over it and walk away as if the last ten years was ten minutes. When people stop talking to you and tell you they don’t want to talk about it, that’s a pretty significant thing.

So aside from being an emotional zombie who doesn’t know how to do anything except sit and let the hot tears wash down her face, I still need homes for some of the babies. Last time the mobilization got me all jacked up on hope and got one kitten a home. Can it be done again? This time to save my sanity or my life (since my blood pressure is about as high as strokesville.) You tell me.

Am I wasting my breath again? Maybe I should just open the door and push them all out… cats, the DH, the lazy kid. Or maybe I should just quietly get the car fixed, toss some stuff in the trunk, pick up my netbook and walk away from all of them. That seems really irresponsible of me. I’m not usually the type you can’t rely on to see things through, but I’m tired of the lip service from everyone starting with my daughter, the man I’ve been with for ten years, and all those people on here who promised to help me but couldn’t be bothered to return an email. Am I the only person out here with ethics and a heart? Is that why everyone stomps on me? Is that why I feel so miserable that I’m gonna have to run to the sink and yak as soon as I post this?

For years I’ve been responsible for others. I’m still responsible for them, sacrificing for them. And I don’t feel appreciated in the least. Now, I’ve strangers treating me the same way with their empty promises of assistance. Am I wrong to want someone to be straight up with me and just help me without asking for or expecting anything in return or reneging? And those people I would like something from – my kid, my DH – why is it that they care only for their own feelings and nothing for mine? Am I just something they use like a utensil or a car? I’m convenient and acquiescent I guess. Perfect for giving lip service to.

If you know someone who could help find the kittehs homes, please repost and retweet the Craigslist link. I really do need homes for them before they end up in the street. I have a feeling that is where I am headed here soon because I just do not see a HEA up ahead.

This morning I have a few thoughts about all of this. I remembered how the grass roots blogger efforts got Lisa of Clusterfook a trip to Disney World with her girls. I know from her email to me during the fundraising, how much that trip meant to her. I knew that there was power in the tweets and blog posts and blog radio shows in this community. I knew that grass roots efforts could yield solutions and so much more.

Help is being offered and I sincerely appreciate it. So does Motley (Nikki). We still need more help, but I can see that @neilhimself’s re-tweets have made a difference. I think the re-tweets of ordinary people can help too. There is a lot we can accomplish when we work together and pass the word. I’ve seen it happen before as in the case of Lisa, and I know it can happen again to help keep my babies safe.

Motley and I thank every one of you for your love and support and friendship. Those of you who check out Socially Dead for her Twilight spoof posts and leave her encouragement. Those of you come here and check out my Marcus Mondays and read my rambles about my life and my writing. Those of you who found us because of a celebrity’s post on Twitter. All of you have value to us. And you’ve all made a difference in our lives and hopefully the lives of the babies.

The Flirty Author Bitches post is called Mobilizing and I would say we’re headed to the freeway soon. The cause has movement. We just need to keep up the momentum until everyone has a safe home.

Thank you all. I can’t even express how wonderful you are. To save even one is a miracle. To save them all… well, we aren’t there yet, but I am beginning to have faith. Your tweets were just as responsible for turning on the light in my darkness as @neilhimself’s. I just have no words (although I’ve just typed a buttload of them, haven’t I? LOL) for how much this means to me.

Many hugs and MUAHS!

Miss you, Rott. Happy 42nd Birthday.

On the flip side… we has babies… with open eyes.