Neeland…the cat from hell! Not to be confused with the three legged cat we thought we were adopting from the local humane society. We even voted by a show of hands unanimously deciding to take Neeland home giving him a second chance at life not confined in a small space, alone and unsocialized from civilization…okay maybe it’s getting a little deep. Anyway, we decided that Neeland was a good cat and he was the one that would be going home with us today.
When we first arrived home with Neeland, we carefully opened the cardboard carrier introducing him to his new home. He walked through the house smelling every obstacle he encountered. We watched out of curiosity how this three-legged cat was able to maneuver throughout his environment. We introduced him to his litter box, which he immediately used; his water and food, and other members of the house, which he hissed at immediately, but we dismissed as him being scared of his new surroundings. We followed him on his quest through the house. Isabell was so excited about Neeland, she reached down to pick him up and soon discovered that cats can scratch. We reprimanded Isabell by saying, “Well, don’t pick him up, he’s just scared.” (We also cleaned her wounds not taking lightly the scratches acquired from a cat). Several minutes later, I began to notice a strong smell of cat urine. Melissa was maintaining a watchful eye and immediately said, “That cat just sprayed your couch!” I remained calm thinking that he was just scared. Soon afterwards and while continuing to follow the cat around, I noticed that not only was he sniffing objects in my house, he was spraying urine on almost everything he came in contact with. Soon after he had my entire house reeking of urine, he staked out his safe haven under my bed. Jo reached under the bed to pet Neeland hoping to make friends and he scratched her too. Okay…we said, maybe this cat isn’t the cat we thought it was. At that point we all agreed that the cat had to go back to the humane society. I reached under the coffee table to pet Neeland trying to give him one more opportunity to redeem himself and he gave me a nasty bite. It was over! The cat had to go!
Now…trying to catch him would be another feat altogether. Where is the Turtle Man when you need him? Grace decided that a laundry basket would make catching Neeland easier. Just wait until he runs and we will drop the basket on him, then transfer him back into the cardboard box he arrived in. After every couch in the house was out in the middle of the floor, we decided to close all of the doors in the hallway, and then we could corner him and trap him under the laundry basket. Everyone in the house took their places. I would catch him using the laundry basket, Jo would close the box lid when we transferred him, Melissa would guard the only exit out of the hallway, and Mandy would keep all of the kids away. “Everybody ready?” I said. Our plans went off flawlessly. We captured Neeland, sealing the box with tape. He would soon be returned to the humane society. We all cleaned our wounds and made one more trip hoping to return home with a cat less aggressive.
After much deliberating at the humane society we decided to adopt Pebbles. A cat whose owner had passed away, leaving no one in the family willing to take care of her. Pebbles is a very fat grey cat who is friendly, curious, and seems to enjoy our family as her new companions. Whew! What a day.
Nothing accomplished but lots of visitors.
Melissa, Austin, Cole, Jo, Harlee, Jillian, Brandon, and Arnold visited. Not everyone had a chance to experience our day of confusion, but still many visitors were here.
Left off a visitor from yesterday. Jenifer came by around 2:00 and picked up some T-Shirts needing to be embroidered. She came in and said hello to Mandy and Isabell while I napped.
8 visitors today, 1 additional visitor yesterday;443 in all and 10 dogs
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