My Sweet Oreo

 Nearly twelve years ago (December 2009), I looked out the window and saw two little kittens and a mama cat in our flower bed. They were probably dumped on the road near our house. They may have been living on their own for a couple of weeks by the time I saw them and were scared to death of everything.  I tried to catch them, but they would run away whenever I got too close.

I put food out on our front porch every morning and every evening. I could see out the window that they were eating the food.  I studied up on feral cats and found a website called Alley Cats which told about something called TNR (Trap.Neuter.Return). I decided I would try to trap them so they could be checked out and neutered. I bought a couple of traps, borrowed a third one, and set them up. It made me so absolutely nervous because I realized that I would probably only have one chance to get all three.

I set the three traps up on my front porch and hoped for the best.  I was so elated when a couple of hours later I had a cat in each of the traps. We put them in the garage to wait for morning. I took the traps into my veterinarian's office.  The cats were checked out, neutered/spayed, and given various immunizations.  The vet's office transferred them into some large crates I brought them, from when my standard poodles were small.

Luckily I had a Suburban and when I put the seats down I was able to transport all three crates home. They had to stay in their crates for 24 hours before I could let them out.

Each year I would go through the process of getting them in a crate and taking them off to the vet for their annual exams. 

The little cat family continued to stay around and I continued to feed them twice a day. When I would go out of town, I would hire a pet sitter or ask my neighbor to feed them for me.

After nearly ten months of daily feeding, I was finally able to touch them softly while they were eating.

A long, slow process of trust was beginning.

One year we screened in our patio to save us from stray golf balls and mosquitoes. I could prop both screen doors open so the cats would have a safe place to get out of inclement weather.  They seemed to enjoy that.

Because they were still free to come and go, one night in April of 2014, Socks (the female kitten) disappeared. I was so upset. I put signs up and hunted for her far and wide. Eventually, I realized that she was probably killed by a coyote when she ventured outside the fence.

During the years, I seemed to "collect" lost and dumped cats, which I then trapped to get "fixed." There was Gray (who was found dead in a neighbor's yard a few weeks later, of an unknown cause), there was Socks (who disappeared in 2014), Mama Cat (who died of cancer in my arms in 2019), there was Rags (who was killed by a fox, also in 2019), and then there was Oreo, Midnight and Pepper. Each year I would go through the process of getting them in a crate and taking them off to the vet for their annual exams. 

When Rags was killed by a fox early one morning and Midnight was visibly shaken, I decided that I couldn't take these "killings."  So.... I decided to put the remaining cats in my screened porch permanently.

The first night I lured them in and closed the doors, they were quite upset when they realized they couldn't get out. That night, Midnight "busted" out through the cardboard I had put over the screen door.

The next day, I went to the hardware store and purchased some "cat proof" screens and hired a guy to attach them to the two doors.  Then I crossed my fingers that the rest of the screen was strong enough to withstand their attacks.

After about a month, they all settled down and seemed to adjust to their new life.  Each morning and each evening, I open the door to the house and let them come in.  Oreo and Pepper were always the first ones to charge in and run around the house to get exercise.  Midnight was much more frightened of everything. He eventually comes in, just more cautiously.

Oreo seemed to really like the house.  He explored and ran up and down the stairs. Most mornings, he would jump up into my lap while I was eating my breakfast.

Even though Oreo loved the house and being able to sit in my lap, he still loved his "catico." He would sit by the fire on cold nights, watch out the big screen windows at the birds, or just move around and try out the various beds and hide-outs.

Oreo was my "vocal" cat.  He would call out to me when he thought it was time to open the door and let him in. He would call to me when he thought it was time for a short nap in my lap. He would "yell" at Midnight and Pepper when they were in his way. 

When he began to get sick, he often curled up in his "igloo" bed.  His "vocals" were less frequent. He basically stopped eating most foods. I offered him ten different "wet" foods in the beginning, including tuna and sardines which he would smell and walk away. After that I ended up rotating 28 different dry foods.... six at a time. That kept him eating for more meals, until there was nothing left for him to try.

I miss that little "boss," and I hate the silence.

RIP my little buddy.

Spring Break

Because we are still trying to adhere to the Covid protocols, spring break for my Austin granddaughters was a visit to Tyler. The first thing we do when the girls hit town is to make a trip to the public library. On Serena’s previous visit in the fall, we got in the midst of a drama as we were patiently standing in a short line to check out our books. 

As you may be able to see in the photo, there is an opening from the lobby, where you stand in line to check out books, to the second floor.

That day, a male teen threw down a couple of books from the second floor which landed with a loud slap on the floor right in front of Serena.

We both jumped!

The teen then ran down the stairs and out the door of the library with a book under his arm. The security guard was sent after him and a call was made to the police. 

I was upset because I realized how close we were to Serena getting hit with a book. And, of course, Serena was upset.

Once outside, we watched as the kid was trying to unlock a bicycle chained to a post, while the police were arriving. It was quite the drama, which Serena talked about the rest of her visit. 

Well, on this trip, we all went upstairs to find a book for Kendall. Kendall and I were busy in the stacks looking for books. 

When we finished, we heard Serena’s voice down below in the lobby. I leaned over the railing and said, “Serena, what are you doing down there?!” 

She had evidently turned left when we turned right and as she wandered through the stacks, Kendall and I were immersed in our own search. Serena said she couldn’t find us and she was afraid to go down the stairs so she found a man who was sitting at a desk and asked him to help her find her family. He took her downstairs to the front desk and after talking to her, the librarians were planning to get on the loudspeaker to get our attention. 

It was only later, in the car on the way home, that we realized how frightened Serena had been. Then, I began to realize that it could have been much more serious. I said, “Serena, if a stranger had tried to take you, would you have screamed?” She said, “No, because it’s a library and you have to be quiet.” Oh, dear… we then had a lesson on screaming even if it is a library in case a stranger tried to take her. 

After we got home, Kendall immediately started reading her book and Serena and I continued to talk about her library experience. 

The girls chose the dinners each night from a list. 

Sunday night was Macaroni and Almost Cheese.  Whenever Kendall has visited us by herself, we made a habit of eating dinner in front of the TV while we watched two half-hour episodes of Modern Family.

We decided to see whether Serena could do that on this visit. I did set up a high chair for her as she has a tendency to jump out of her seat a number of times during a meal. She agreed to the terms.

We were all amazed that for such a talker and wiggle worm, she sat and watched two episodes while eating and never said a word!

She was also very careful about not spilling anything on the carpet during our TV/Meals – except for one night when she decided to unlatch the tray from her high chair while her dishes were still there. Luckily, I caught everything – except the orange/kale smoothie she still had left!

Monday, the sun was out and the girls were eager to go swimming. The pool water was a brisk sixty-five degrees and I had been unable to get the pool heater to work.

We had a nice lunch by the pool and Kendall enjoyed a little sunbathing time before deciding to get wet.

When they did decide to get wet, it was quite a shock!

Tuesday morning, Serena and I went to the personal gym and worked out with Ms. Lisa. Serena loves working out and getting so much attention from Lisa. She worked circles around me and when we left, she was still full of energy!

Kendall is doing an internship with a Justice organization and had a couple of hour-long Zoom calls that morning. Then she spent quite a bit of time on her computer trying to get her assignment done – looking up some of the Texas “house” bills and trying to write down the parts that needed to be shared with others.  What tedious work for a teenager!

Tuesday afternoon, we made a trip out to the Wild Tiger Sanctuary where we walked around and looked at the tigers who had been rescued from abusive situations.

And, maybe the tortoises were rescued as well.

The girls enjoying the sunshine.

Wednesday was cleaning day! My cleaning ladies just say, “Muy bonita!” over and over to the girls.

Kendall took Serena on a long walk into the back country and they came home with muddy shoes and talk of their great adventure.  They must have walked 2 or 3 miles.

Later, Rick took them on another walk, and of course, there were golf cart rides.

On Thursday morning, Serena and I went to the Cotton Belt Railroad Depot Museum.  

Included in the museum's collection are four large model train layouts, photographs, uniforms, hats, etc. that have been donated by former employees of the railroad, rail fans, and friends of the depot.

Those things were interesting, but the "hands-on" trains were much more fun.

On Friday, modeling day had finally arrived. Serena loves modeling almost as much as she loves working out with Miss Lisa.

The Models...

Kendall is really good about playing and entertaining Serena. Here they are working a jig-saw puzzle.

Of course, Kendall loves her quiet reading time.

A sandwich recipe that Serena told us about... avocado, spinach, cucumbers and pickles!

It is always so quiet around the house once they leave. 😞