Motherhood at 55

I don't have human kids, but I do have three feline kids, all about 8 months old, and all with different baby daddies.  Growing up as they did in a shelter, they came with their share of issues.  Leo and Maggie both came home with colds, and they are both still blowing snot everywhere; on each other, on me, on my keyboard, on the wall...it's amazing how far that stuff travels.  Getting dried snot off a painted wall is not easy; I finally found the toilet paper and water trick.  Put a wet piece of toilet paper over it and it comes right off a few minutes later.

And Meep, well, she's definitely a special needs kitten.  She's mostly blind in one eye, and has had breathing issues her entire life.  The last Vet I took her to said he didn't hold out much hope for a long life.  The possibilities of what are wrong include Feline Infectious Peritonitis (no treatment, fatal), feline heartworm (no treatment, mostly fatal), and congestive heart failure (no real treatments, mostly fatal).

I can imagine what a mother goes through, at least a little.  The nights when Meep's breathing becomes so labored I spend hours with her inside a bathroom with a hot shower going.  This afternoon, Leo had explosive diarrhea - all over the wall behind the litter box.  I discovered that when I picked Meep up and found that she had diarrhea all over the side of her face - of course she had to lay in it!

So after Meep got her bath, I sat down to write this post. Focused as I was, I ignored the odd noises behind me.  Until it hit me - that noise was coming from behind the stacked washer and dryer.  Leo, practising his tightrope walking skills, decided to explore the back of the machines by walking on the cords back there.  He should keep his day job, because he fell down to the ground, and there was no room to walk out. Who exactly would you call to rescue a cat stuck behind a washing machine - the fire department?  I used my MacGyver skills and lowered a baking rack in the slot between the washer and the sink cabinet.  He finally got the hint and clawed his way to the top so I could grab him.

And now to clean up the snot that Maggie just blew all over my keyboard.