On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 16:18:14 GMT, "Magic Mood Jeep©"
<nobody@nowhere.net> wrote:

picky picky, I was measuring from the "Bloomington exit" on I-65 ^_-

At least we don't have as much in the way of hills to deal with as you
do in Bloomington. I was just outside getting the mail, and was very
happy Dad had swept(1) off the sidewalk earlier. Having cleared off
the snow earlier made it easier to tell where the sidewalk was
supposed to be when I went out! (it was up to just below my knees, but
I suspect at least part of that was due to drifting)

(1) yes, *swept*. It is a dry powdery snow down here, and a snow
shovel is not really necessary right now.

Jeanne Hedge, as directed by Natasha

============
http://www.jhedge.com

Now you've done it...actually *asked* me to talk about my furbabies! I'm
like the grandmother with an accordian-pleated file of photos. I don't know
how to keep it short when I talk about Holly and Duffy.

I adopted Holly the day after Thanksgiving (9 years ago). Amber had died
following a long illness less than a month earlier, at the age of 16. I had
finally made the agonizing decision that "it was time" because there was no
longer any hope of a quality life for her. Holidays are often a poor time to
adopt because of all the hustle and bustle, but it is a good time for me
because I have free time then. So, I went to the animal shelter the day
after Thanksgiving to look into beginning an adoption procedure, but they
were closed. Then I went to a local store that sells pet food and pet
supplies because they often have cats and kittens that people have "dropped
off" to see if they can be adopted. The cages were empty. However, I stood
around talking to one of the women who worked there. She had talked to me
many times over the previous year as I bought supplies for Amber, and she
told me about Holly and asked me "if I would consider" her. This woman had
rescued Holly from a local breeder (at least, that's how I look at it). The
woman was trying to create a specific type of cat, and she mixed a purebred
Oriental shorthair with a purebred Persian. However, Holly wasn't "good
enough" for her. Why not? Simply the color!!! The woman wanted dusty gray
and Holly is solid black. The breeder had intended to "dispose of" Holly for
that reason, and this wonderful woman from the pet store talked the breeder
into letting her try to find a home for Holly instead. Holly was with her
for several months and was about 6 months old at the time I first saw her.
So, I agreed to "look" at Holly, met the woman the next day, and adopted
Holly on the spot. However, her name wasn't Holly then. It was "Jinx"
because she was a "bad luck cat." I thought she deserved a beautiful, loving
name, not a name like Jinx. So, her name became Holly, which was derived
from "Holiday" because I adopted her in-between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So, you were pretty close with your guess about her name. And, in my
opinion, Holly is a "good luck cat"!

As for Duffy, I was looking through Petfinder at possible cats for a friend
who wanted to adopt. In fact, that was my introduction to Petfinder.
Megan -- who I "met" though this group and health+behav and who helped me
with many cat-related medical issues -- was on the phone and was walking me
through the process. There we saw the picture of Duffy. He looked sad and
dejected, and we thought he was an old cat from the picture. He was also
blind, and had been in a cage at the animal shelter for several months. The
friend who had been looking for a cat would not even consider him. The
information on the Petfinder web site also mentioned that he had previously
been adopted, then was returned to the shelter after two years. The thought
of that little guy just tore at my heartstrings, but I thought I couldn't
possibly adopt another cat because Holly had always reacted very violently
when any other cat was in my proximity. When I visited my sister in the
summers, we would have to keep Holly and her cats in different areas of the
house because Holly would attack the other cats so viciously. In fact, we
called her "the black tornado" at that time. But, Megan kept insisting that
"I could do it" and she promised to give me lots of help in learning how to
bring the two cats together. So, I called the shelter (located in a town
about 30 miles away) to inquire, and the director of the shelter told me
that the woman who previously adopted Duffy said he was "a wonderful cat"
but complained that "even though he was blind" he had found a way to get to
her pet birds and had killed one, and that he was even "teaching" her
sighted cat to get to the birds. I couldn't believe the supidity and lack of
love displayed in that simple statement! I also learned that Duffy wasn't
"old" - he was estimated to be between 3 and 5 years old. So, as with Holly,
I made arrangements to make the trip to the shelter and "look" at Duffy. Of
course, it was rather "telling" on my part that I downloaded their adoption
paperwork and already had it filled out before I left home! Once I saw
Duffy, I fell instantly in love with him and he with me. He was all over me
as I sat with him -- cuddling against me, rubbing his little face against
mine, purring, etc. The staff were amazed. They said he was normally very
timid, and I learned that was true after I took him home 3 days later (which
is their required waiting period for adoption during which time they have an
evaluation by their house veterinarian). He seemed to trust me completely
from the start, but he would go into hiding every time the doorbell rang and
wouldn't come out for a couple of hours. All of that ended long ago. He now
loves attention from everyone, and he and Holly both head directly "to"
anyone who visits. And, Megan was true to her word. She walked me, step by
step, through all the things I needed to do to create an atmosphere where
Holly would accept Duffy. It worked beautifully, and the two cats are now
buddies. It will be 2 years on Feb. 1 since I adopted Duffy.

Thanks for asking...and my apologies if I have (once again) become far too
wordy in answering a simple question.

MaryL