There's one thing that Zoe hasn't forgotten -- the sound of a bag of treats. The instant she heard that crinkly plastic bag she was in my face demanding treats, and Jetta wasn't far behind. Tosca's nose is out of joint from having to share food and treats and space, but it's only the mildest of protest. I suspect it will soon pass.

My girls are so happy to be with me again. Zoe curled up in my lap a little while ago and Jetta's hanging out on the desk the way she used to. I've been brushing and brushing and brushing Zoe because she looked scruffy. The amount of fur I'm getting off her is astounding. It's as though she hasn't groomed herself in a year. It's not mats or anything like that, just tons of excess fur. It will take many brushing sessions to get her in order, I think.

Kate seems generally befuddled by the new situation, but she's still getting her lap time and I make sure the young girls don't bother her while she's eating the canned food.

I wasn't able to get a vet appointment until next Mon. At least that will give the girls time to settle in, eat a lot and rest up before being tested.

The drive was boring and uneventful. Tom had forgotten me, so I didn't get much of a chance to pet him, but his foot looks good. He's using it well and he seems content with his situation.

Zoe greeted me when I entered the cattery she was in, though I'm not sure that she remembered who I was after a year and two months of separation. She was easy to pick up and put into the carrier. She's underweight, almost gaunt, and I can only hope it's simply from not eating.

As I expected, Jetta wouldn't let me near her. Lolette and I had to tag team her, but managed to catch her after a few minutes.

Jetta had loud Complaints to make for the first hour of the drive, then settled into Random Variable Complaints for the rest of the trip. Zoe threw in a few comments here and there.

But once we got back to home and I let them out in the office, Jetta was the one who surprised me. Everything in here should awaken their memories -- the smell of the carpet, my desk, the shelving with the familiar cardboard boxes, the catboxes, etc. I think that's exactly what happened. In no time at all, Jetta was circling around me demanding love and attention, which I showered upon her. I would say that Jetta is a very happy girl.

Zoe is the being a trifle more reticent, but is mainly getting to know the place. I was glad to see that one of the first things she did was to eat a few bites of food.

They don't seem to remember Tosca and Kate very well, even though they've lived with them all their lives except for the past year, but I expect that to change. Right now, there's some Automatic Defensive Hissing going on. Nothing serious.

A little later, I put Jetta on my desk and she ran back and forth wanting more scritchies. Right now, Tosca, Jetta and Zoe are all perched on the desk. Or were, until they heard the neighbors in their garage right next door. It doesn't help that the neighbors keep their dog in the garage a lot and she barks when they're gone.

Everybody had canned food tonight, with plenty of enthusiasm from all quarters.

My big concern is to get them to the vet for a complete set of blood tests as soon as I can manage. They were in a cattery with any number of unknown cats and kittens, the same cattery where Simon died, and there's no telling what they could have been exposed to. Except for Zoe being underweight, they seem healthy enough.

Jetta's trying out for the role of Goth Princess. Her head is covered with cobwebs. Happy moggies. Happy human.

I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend, but I've decided instead to make the six-plus hour drive to Frazier Park to pick up Zoe and Jetta and bring them up here. It puts us at risk with the current rental situation, but I feel it's something I simply must do. Tom-tom is doing fine down there and he's still healing from surgery, so I'll let him remain. That's his home turf anyway and I think he'll be happy there. But my two other girls need to be with me.

I've received deeply upsetting news from my friend at Cause4Cats. She had to give me the bad news that Simon has died of unknown causes, possibly liver failure. She helped me tremendously by taking in the cats I wasn't able to bring with me right away, though it has always been my plan to have the remaining cats with me again as soon as I could manage it. I feel utterly miserable and hold myself responsible for his loss.

She also had some surgery done to Tom's deformed paw that she hopes will help his situation. That was good of her.

If anyone would care to make a donation to Cause4Cats in memory of lovely Simon, it would be greatly appreciated.

Simon approx 2005 to approx. 19 Sept. 2008

Randy did end up with some mild brusing on the bridge of his nose and a little bit around his eye. It's not too bad, though.

In order to track Pippin's weight on the diet, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a digital weight scale. I found out what brand my vet uses and ordered the same scale. In June, Pippin weighed in at the vet's office at 21 lbs. 10 oz. Three months later, using the same scale as the vet, he weighed in at....21 lbs. 10 oz. He hasn't lost a single ounce!!!

Randy tried to put a positive spin on it -- at least he hasn't gained weight. It looks like we may have to cut back on the amount of food slightly. Pippy is one hefty boy.

Pippin: Waiting for the camera to go away.

The Pippin Belly in all its glory.

Saffy: "I loves my mousie."

Saffy: But curiosity is stronger than mousie-love.

And now, for your amusement, cat vs printer.

One of the last things we do before going to bed is to get out the laser pointer and let the cats chase the Red Bug. Usually Randy watches safely from the sidelines. Last night, he was lying on the floor trying to engage Pippin in play. Pippin was being his usual indolent self. Opal was racing around after the Red Bug when I made a poor choice of direction. The next thing I knew, Opal was doing a rocket-assisted launch off Randy's face. I think she didn't quite manage to make a jump all the way over him and bounced halfway there. It looked like she did everything she could in mid-leap to avoid it, but it was too late.

Randy was in a lot of pain, clutching his face and my biggest worry is that she'd gotten him in the eye. It was a near thing. He had a couple of punctures immediately below his eye and gouge on his nose that bled a lot. He thinks he might get a black eye out of it, given that he had 9 bls. of cat bounce in one spot. We got him patched up and he assured Opal that everything was okay. She looked rather worried.

So there's proof positive that playing with a laser pointer can be dangerous to your eyes...just not exactly in the way you expect.

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